Star Gazing

Chapters

Confusing Attractions
A Royal Favor
Enthralled
Potential
Return of a Friend
Blocked
Destruction
Influence
Insanity, Sadism, Dishonesty
Mercy?
Descending
Tipping Point
Freed
Apex
Resolutions (Epilogue)

Confusing Attractions

“Polaris…” Twilight dutifully recited from an open tome in front of her, “is one of the brightest stars in Luna’s night sky. It is always located in a tangential line with the North Pole, and is often used by naviponies to guide ships on their course.” A purple glow enveloped the book as Twilight turned the page carefully. The book was well-worn, telling of many reads previous. The book’s cover was a faded bluish-purple, with a circlet of stars wrapping around a full moon.

“The only brighter star in Luna’s sky is Sirius,” she continued, her voice dull, “which, due to unknown factors, appears brighter, burning a white-blue in the sky. Sirius has always been somewhat of a mystery to novice and expert astronomers alike, because it poses a scientific anomaly that has yet to be solved.” Twilight sighed and shut the book, her soft purple glow winking out in the night light.

She was perched on the balcony of her library home, a telescope low enough that she could gaze through it while laying as she was, a quilt underneath her, her copy of The Wonders and Mysteries of Luna’s Sky sat next to her, now closed, and an unfinished sketch of as many of the stars she could fit onto a sizable piece of parchment. It was a cool summer’s night, and Twilight was staring at Luna’s moon and stars in something akin to wonderment.

Twilight had always been fascinated with the night sky. The winking lights that appeared in a stark contrast to the dark sky had always entertained the more creative side of Twilight, a unicorn that appeared borderline OCD.

And that, she thought wistfully, is why this looks like…well, this. Her gaze had fallen to her sketch of the night sky in front of her. It initially started out scientific, with gridlines and geometry running in perfect parallel to each other, and she had measured out the precise location of these stars, labeling them with names, light intensity, and color.

At least, that’s how it started. As she swept her gaze across the parchment, Twilight felt a wry amusement well up inside her. For, while the left most part of the parchment was scientific and orderly, the right side of the parchment had descended into chaos. Here, geometry lines fell to pieces, the stars that were present were unlabeled, and Twilight suspected that she had invented more than a few of these stars.

She had even started drawing, with messy dotted lines, her own constellations. The Ursa Minor that she had lulled back to sleep with a little bit of research and quick thinking was present in a vague form (it looked like a pillar more than anything, but Twilight knew what the original design was).

She noticed the cutie marks of her friends, all but one of them being three clusters of stars. She noticed Applejack’s, three circles of stars with a small belt of stars extending out of the tops of those circles. There was Fluttershy’s, whose butterflies were apparent, even if you didn’t know what you were looking for. Rarity’s, of course, were probably the easiest to spot. Four stars in a diamond shaped pattern with one bright star in the middle, repeated thrice, just like on her gorgeous friend’s flank. Twilight could feel another smile build up inside her as her eyes fell on Pinkie Pie’s constellation, which was another circle of stars, like Applejack’s, except Pinkie’s had a long tail of six or seven stars extend from the bottom of those circles, like strings to her balloons. Finally, her gaze fell upon Rainbow Dash’s constellation, the brightest one of them all, the stars extending in a jagged line out of (as far as Twilight could tell) a nebula. Fitting, Twilight thought dryly. Her pegasus friend was always showing off, trying to be the best and outshine everyone.

Twilight laughed softly. Of course, if Rainbow Dash wasn’t doing that, she wouldn’t be the friend Twilight adored. The more Twilight thought about it, in fact, the more she was sure that if her friends had ever stopped doing some of the quirky things, they would stop doing the important ones, too. If Rarity and Applejack ever stopped fighting, they would lose the things that marked them distinctly as individuals. If Fluttershy ever became bold and aggressive, she’d lose her trademark kindness. If Pinkie Pie stopped throwing parties…Twilight shuddered and stopped herself. They all knew what would happen THEN.

But that wasn’t even the most interesting part of her sketch. Twilight’s horn glowed again as she picked up her sketching pencil, going to the barely marked far side of the parchment. Here, swirls of stars cascaded into darkness, and here is where she had finally started to sketch the moon.

The moon. It was what had captivated Twilight’s imagination, ever since she and her friends took up mantles as the bearers of the Elements of Harmony; ever since they destroyed the darkness residing within Princess Luna’s soul that went by the name of Nightmare Moon. The moon had captured her, just as Nightmare Moon had captured Princess Luna. Twilight had spent almost every spare moment studying Luna’s moon, sketching it out, and even going so far as to attempt to calculate some already-known data about it.

Of course, Twilight was just trying to fool herself. And, deep down, she knew it, too.

It wasn’t the moon that had captivated Twilight. It was Princess Luna herself. Ever since the encounter with Nightmare Moon, Twilight had felt something, some piece of herself attach to the Princess of the Night. Initially, she had been worried that her friends would get tangled up in the almost magnetic attraction. So, she had casually hinted at this with her other friends, but to no avail. None of her friends seemed to feel any sort of connection with the Princess. Twilight met this with a mix of emotions. While it was comforting that her friends wouldn't be involved in this (whatever this was), it was slightly depressing that she wouldn't have anypony to talk to concerning her attraction.

“Is attraction even the right word?” Twilight mumbled to herself, sketching pencil lazily running over the parchment. “Despite all the knowledge everypony seems to think I have, I haven’t got a clue about any of this.” Her sketch pencil was zooming across the paper now, guided by Twilight’s absent thoughts.

Glancing down at the parchment again, Twilights eyes grew wide. Hastily, her magic crumpled up the parchment as she shoved it underneath her bed, cramming it with numerous other crumpled up pieces of paper. She winced as she did it, knowing that parchment was an expensive luxury, and it was a shame to waste it like that. But she was embarrassed, ashamed even, at what she had drawn. It was…unprofessional, to say the least.

Besides, she thought as she gathered her things from the balcony and prepared to turn in for the night, it might be crime to think about a Princess that way.

~*~*~*~*~

Somewhere, deep in the recesses of Twilight Sparkle’s mind, a shadow stirred, and an ice blue eye opened with excruciating slowness.

“…Twilight Sparkle…” the shadow whispered with a raspy voice. “You have…so much…poweerrrrr…” The shadow grew in size, minutely, and opened the other ice blue eye. “Soon…you shall taste…it all…” the raspy voice broke into a maniacal cackle, “aand…when you do…when you achieve…your full potential…it shall be MINE.”

A Royal Favor

In Canterlot, many miles away from Ponyville and Twilight Sparkle, a midnight blue alicorn wretched for the third time in a row, spitting bile and water on the lush green grass of the royal palace garden. A groaning Princess Luna just sat there for a minute, eyes closed, letting the wind blow through her mane and soothe her for a second.

"Lu'?" A sleepy voice called from the pavilion. A haggard-looking Celestia stood in the doorway, rubbing her eyes with a hoof. "Are you alright?"

Luna blanched. Had she been that loud in her vomitting? It was not very becoming for a royal figure such as herself. "You should be in bed, sister dearest," Luna's voice was soft, like a nightengale just waking up.

"Why, yes, I suppose I should," Celestia agreed thoughtfully, plodding over to stand next to her sister. "But when I feel like my stomach has just been taken on an economy-class pegasus ride through a hurricane, I tend to worry." Celestia shot a glance at Luna, a light smile gracing her lips. "Especially when I know it was far worse on your end."

Luna unregally stuck her tounge out at her sister. Despite it being the dead of night, Celestia carried a radiance only a goddess of the sun would posses at all times. It made Luna look out of practice. She knew it was a magical glamour, but she felt in awe of it all the same.

Ears flicking, Celestia prodded Luna in the side, draping an elegant white wing over her smaller sibling. "What happened, Lu'?"

Luna shrugged ever so slightly. "It was one of the most awful feelings I've ever had. It was as if all the emotions I felt before my sentence-" Celestia flinched, but Luna continued on. She had forgiven her sister long ago for that "-only, this time all the hatred and anger was aimed at me, instead of coming from me." Luna turned sad eyes on her sister. "I guess I know how you feel now, huh?"

"Come," Celestia said abruptly, but not unkindly. "Let's get you inside and get you some water. We can talk about this again in the morning." Side by side, the regal alicorns walked back inside, both feeling aprehensive about the future.

~*~*~*~*~

Dear Princess Celestia,

I am breaking from our normal correspondence of the lessons of friendship to inform you about some strange happenings last night. I found myself awake for longer than a pony should consider healthy, and despite some cases that I have had in the past, this felt different. It was as if my mind had completely dominated all of my physical urges while still leaving my conscious in the dust behind it. It was...frightening, to say the least.

In addition, as I observed the night sky (it's what I ended up doing while waiting for sleep to come), I noticed several peculiar shadows flitting across the moon and the stars. It was as if entire groups of Luna's handiwork had suddenly vanished, swallowed by some malignant entity.Furthermore, nopony I confided in afterwords had mentioned seeing anything of the sort. While I would ask that you put forth an inquiry to the Royal Astronomy Society, I have a horrible feeling in my gut that they too would be unaware of these occurrences.

I sincerely hope that you don't think any less of me for this, but this isn't the first time that I have been struck by sudden, inexplicable insomnia. It probably isn't any cause for alarm, but...I'm slightly frightened, Princess, and I didn't know who else to turn to.

Your Faithful Student,

Twilight Sparkle

Twilight set her quill down with a sigh. She couldn't think of a way to make it sound less pleading, but it still seemed too...

Too what? It didn't seem right to Twilight, burdening her mentor with her own worries. But she was on the border of desperation. She needed somepony to talk to.

"Hey Twi'! Breakfast is re- whoa!" Spike ambled into Twilight's bedroom, looking wide-eyed at the mess that had come to dominate the once-tidy room. Crumpled paper, broken quills, empty inkpots, and discarded books littered the floor. Twilight's bed was unkempt. And Spike gasped as he looked at Twilight herself. There were dark rings under her eyes, and her eyes were missing the usual energetic gleam that marked a happy Twilight Sparkle.

"On second thought, breakfast can wait," Spike said firmly, grabbing his mentor pony by the hoof and half-led her, half-drug her to her bed, throwing back the covers.

"Spike...letter...Princess..." Twilight mumbled, eyes fluttering closed, her entire body swaying like a leaf in the breeze.

"Yes, Twilight, I'll take care of it," Spike promised. A small smile graced Twilight's face.

"That's...number...assistant..." Twilight managed to say before collapsing onto her bed. She was out before her head hit the pillow.

"You really need to take better care of yourself," Spike shook his head. "Anyway, let's get this letter sent to the Princess, and then clean up this mess."

~*~*~*~*~

Luna watched carefully as Celestia sipped her coffee, a look of bliss crossing her older sister's face. "Ahh, Hazelnut. A good flavor to have in the morning," she said quietly.

Luna scoffed. "I never understood how you drank that swill, sis."

Celestia smiled a knowing smile. "I guess it's a bit of an aqcuired taste."

Luna still huffed and stomped the ground. "Well, you won't find me drinki-hck!" she coughed mid sentance due to the green puff of smoke that had just materialized right in front of her nose.

"Oh! Luna, are you alright?" Try as she might, Celestia could not keep the amusement out of her voice as her younger sister glared at her, a poof of green clinging stubbornly to her nose.

"Splendid," Luna retorted. If Celestia registered the sarcasm, she let it roll of, instead levitating over the scroll that had appeared with the smoke.

"Oh, wonderful!" Celestia's smile widened into genuine delight. "It's from Twilight!"

Twilight? Luna wondered idly. Then, with a flash of rainbows and a whole lot of unearthly screaming, Luna remembered. A purple unicorn with a golden tiara, glowing white eyes and a cute strip of pink down the center of her mane. Twilight Sparkle, bearer of the Element of Magic. Luna scratched at the ground nervously. She remembered the pure power that had flowed from the unicorn. Twilight and her friends might chalk the power up to the Elements help, but Luna knew that Twilight had enough raw power to rival both herself and Celestia.

And then Luna was struck with a more pleasant memory. Her first Nightmare Night back in Equestria had gotten off to a rough start, but Twilight Sparkle had somehow turned the entire thing around.

"Let's see what insightful observations she has for me this time," Celestia purred, breaking the seal on the scroll and unfurling it. As Celestia's face fell, though, Luna could tell it was anything but good news.

"Sis?" Luna said after a few minutes. Celestia had read and re-read and re-re-read the scroll, and only just now set it down. "What is it?"

Quietly, Celestia read Twilight's letter aloud. Luna merely looked puzzled. Sure, it wasn't a happy letter, but certainly it was no cause for alarm, right?

"Sis, I don't understand. Why are you acting the way you are?" Celestia merely looked at her sister.

"In all the years that Twilight has been my student, she has never once gotten sick," Celestia murmured. "She has never once had an injury last for longer than a few minutes, and she certainly has never developed insomnia."

"Okay...so the mare takes good care of herself. Why is this cause for alarm again?" Luna didn't mean to sound calloused, but she was trying to understand.

"Don't you see, Luna?" Celestia said quietly. "Her magic is strong enough that it literally burns away all illness. It keeps her mind focused. It keeps her healthy. Heals every single injury."

"Okay..."

"So, what could possibly make her ill enough to hallucinate?" Celestia's voice rose in a crescendo, accompanied by an undertone of panic. "Her handwriting is the choppiest it has ever been. She's hallucinating. She's sleep deprived, but not by choice."

Luna's eyes began to widen. "So, you're saying..."

Celestia closed her eyes and whispered, "I think something is feeding off of my student's magic."

Luna shuddered. If something was feeding off of the magic within Twilight Sparkle, then it had a vast amount of food.

"Luna," Celestia's whisper almost went past her ears.

"Yes, Celestia?"

"I need to ask you a favor."

Luna frowned. It wasn't an order? Or an official request?

"I would be forever in your debt if you went to Ponyville for me to check on Twilight," Celestia continued, "And I think it would do you some good, as well."

"Do me good?" Luna raised her eyebrow daintily.

"Yes. I do seem to recall that you two became quick friends over Nightmare Night."

"I would be glad to, sister," Luna said, straightening up. "It's not like I can do much around here anyway." Celestia merely nodded. Despite Luna's return, she had still not taken up the mantle of raising the moon and painting the sky with stars each night. Despite Celestia's protests, she just felt she was not ready.

"Thank you, Lu'," Celestia said quietly. Then, rising up to her feet, she brightened visably. "I'm sure she will get much better under your care." And, that said, Celestia trotted off. Luna smiled thinly. Well, she WAS always better suited to this royalty business than I was, she thought.

"Alright, Ponyville," Luna muttered under your breath, "Prepare for another visit by your matriarch of the nighttime."

Enthralled

“Fluttershy, I’m fine,” Twilight insisted for the umpteenth time. She was propped up against the headrest of her bed with pillows giving her lumbar support. A book she had been reading was laying face-down on her lap as her friends milled about, worried expressions on their faces.

“Oh, but you’re not fine!” Fluttershy insisted. “Why, if you were one of the little bunnies I take care of, I would have prescribed you a lot of bed rest a long time ago! If that was okay with you, of course…”

Twilight half smiled. “Fluttershy, honestly. I feel much better than I did this morning.” Hoping to reinforce the point, Twilight smiled hugely, fluttering her eyelids. Fluttershy gasped, leaning back.

“Oh, you poor thing! Your eyes are completely bloodshot!” Fluttershy said worriedly, digging through her pack of medical supplies.

Twilight gave an exasperated sigh and fell back against the pillows. Applejack slowly walked up, skirting around the objects that were flying out of the pack Fluttershy was submerged in.

“Hey sugarcube, anythin’ Ah can get ya?” Applejack smiled kindly, which Twilight returned in kind.

“Some coffee would be nice,” Twilight mused.

“But Twi’, it’s in the smack middle of the day!” Applejack protested. Twilight just gave her a look.

“And?”

“Oh, don’t mind Applejack, darling,” Rarity flicked her tail, lightly hitting Applejack on the side. Applejack rolled her eyes. “How would you like your coffee?

“Three sugar cubes and enough milk to make the coffee a light brown, stirred well,” Twilight said, a guilty smile spreading across her face.

“Ah’m not sure Fluttershy will be dandy with such sweets,” Applejack said nervously. Fluttershy was still digging through her pack.

“I wouldn’t worry about it, dear,” Rarity said reassuringly, “though it is a bit sweeter than I usually prefer mine…”

Twilight brought a hoof to her face, giving another exasperated sigh.

“One coffee with light cream and three sugars, coming up!” Rarity dashed out of Twilight’s room…

…and collided with Rainbow Dash, who was just standing outside.

“Waahh!!!”

Rarity and Rainbow landed in a graceless heap at the bottom of the stairs. Twilight plugged her ears. Applejack just looked at Twilight in confusion.

“RAINBOW DASH!!!!”

“Eep!” Fluttershy’s hair stood on end as she went to hide under Twilight’s bed, but ran smack dab into Twilight’s hoof.

“Fluttershy,” Twilight said gently. “It’s only Rarity.”

“O-oh. I knew that…”

“You absolutely RUINED my hair!” Rarity shrieked.

“Yeah? Well, maybe if you weren’t such a klutz and actually looked to see where you’re going, this wouldn’t have happened!” Rainbow yelled back.

“Me? A klutz? I am a LADY! And words such as klutz do not apply to someone who conducts themselves with as sophisticated a manner as I! Now, if you’ll so kindly excuse me,” Rarity shook the dust out of her mane, returning it to a sparkly sheen that it usually had, “I have coffee to make!” And with that, Rarity whirled around and trotted into the kitchen.

“Jeez, who put a thistle in her hay?” Rainbow muttered as she floated up the stairs. “Hey Twilight. Wow, you look awful.”

Twilight just smiled. “I look much worse than I feel, honest.” Rainbow just rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, if you say so.”

“I do say s- HEY!” Twilight protested as Fluttershy climbed up on Twilight, pinning her hooves to her side with her hind legs. If she heard Rainbow mutter “That’s hot,” she chose to ignore it.

“F-fluttershy! What are you doing?”

“Just hold still, Twilight. I need to administer these eyedrops,” Fluttershy carefully uncorked a bottle with her teeth.

“Oh, then why do I need to be restrained?”

“Well, they might not be the most comfortable eye drops in the world,” Fluttershy admitted sheepishly. Before Twilight could react, Fluttershy quickly put two drops in each of Twilight’s eyes.

“Aauuugh!!” Twilight screamed, her eyes burning like fire. The urge to rub her eyes was unbearable, but Fluttershy kept her hooves pinned. She writhed like a snake, tears streaming from her eyes.

Then, suddenly, the pain was gone. Twilight’s second scream was cut off briefly as she blinked her eyes rapidly.

“There, now, that wasn’t so bad, now, was it?” Fluttershy said sweetly, “And your eyes look much better now, too.” Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement.

“Shoot, girl,” Applejack looked at Fluttershy, amusement plain on her face. “Ya could have at least warned the poor thing.”

Twilight just blinked again and sat back. “What is in those eyedrops?”

Fluttershy scuffed a hoof against the ground. “Oh, water, mostly. Some aloe extracts to soothe irritated skin. And…maybe…some firesbane…”

“Firesbane?” Twilight’s eyes opened wide, then closed again in acceptance. “Well, that does explain the burning. I wouldn’t have thought of it as a catalyst to speed up the healing process of the aloe.”

“Well, it was your idea,” Fluttershy said timidly.

“Oh, Fluttershy. I think I’d remember something like that,” said Twilight, waiving a hoof dismissively.

“O-okay…”

"Hay, where in tarnation is Pinkie Pie, anyway?" Applejack looked around, noticing a distinct lack of confetti, streamers, and other party paraphernalia.

"She went back to the rock farm for a couple of days to check in with the fam'," Rainbow Dash said casually.
Twilight just shrugged. "Maybe it's better that way. She's exhausting sometimes," the unicorn said, leaning back into a pillow. Then she shot a glance at the three ponies in her proximity. "You won't tell her I said that.

"Of course not, Twi'," Applejack said. Rainbow Dash glanced at Applejack, who just shrugged in turn. “Sugarcube, Ah hate ter leave ya like this, but Ah got some serious work to do on mah farm, so…”

“It’s okay, Applejack. You don’t need to stand vigil over me,” Twilight smiled. “It’s not like I’m dying.”

“Shoot, Twi’, don’t jinx yerself,” Applejack said, stamping three times against the wooden floor, amusement on her face. “Alright, get better now, ya hear?”

Twilight just waved a hoof lazily as Applejack, still chuckling, wandered out of her room, tail swishing behind her.

“Yeah, as much as a blast this has been,” Rainbow Dash started, stretching her wings.

“Yes, Rainbow, you can go too,” Twilight interrupted whatever excuse Rainbow had for leaving. “I know you get restless when you don’t fly.”

“Yeah! Thanks Twilight. You’re, like, the most understanding friend I’ve ever had!” Rainbow grinned, noticing Fluttershy’s face falling. “Besides you, of course,” she said, flicking her yellow pegasus friend in the nose with her tail. “See ya guys!” Rainbow flew out the window.

“That pony needs to learn how to use a door,” Twilight said with amused irritation. Fluttershy just nodded in agreement, scuffing a hoof against the floor again. Twilight just smiled kindly at her. “Let me guess, you need to go, too?”

“Oh, no, Twilight. I’d be happy to stay here. I mean, I’m sure the little bunnies will be fine on their own for a while, and the squirrels don’t need a new tree home right away, and…”

“Enough,” Twilight said firmly, reminiscently sounding like Princess Celestia. “Fluttershy, you don’t have to cater over me like a sick animal. I’m a grown mare, you know. I can handle myself.”

“Oh, I know, Twilight, I just…” Fluttershy just smiled a little bit.

“I know, you’re the kindest pony I’ve ever met, even if you didn’t have the Element of Kindness,” Twilight said with a smile. “But it would be selfish of me to hoard all that kindness for myself, wouldn’t it?”

“Well, since you put it that way,” Fluttershy hugged Twilight, adding, “You’re sure you don’t need my help? With anything?”

“Yes, Fluttershy,” Twilight replied. “Besides, I think that Rarity is still downstairs…” her ear flicked in the direction of her door as clanking and muted curses came from the kitchen.

“Well, then I guess I can go ahead and leave. You know, if you want me to…” Fluttershy smiled sheepishly at Twilight.

“Go on,” Twilight said firmly. “Those little bunnies need you.” Fluttershy just nodded and walked towards the door.

“Oh, and Fluttershy,” Twilight added, grinning. “You can use the window, too.”

The pegasus went slightly red from embarrassment and nodded, wings fluttering as she lifted herself out the window.

Not ten seconds later, hoofsteps started pounding up the stairs. “Twilight Sparkle, I could not get that coffee maker of yours to work. Honestly, how do you manage to run your entire home just on your magic?” Rarity walked haughtily through the door, and then paused, looking around. “Where is everypony?”

Twilight just giggled.

~*~*~*~*~

Twilight found that she was alone, curled up in her bed in the middle of the afternoon. Spike had gone with Rarity on a request to bolster her supply of gemstones, and had said he wouldn’t be back for the better part of the day. She was reading The Wonders and Mysteries of Luna’s Sky, her strange fascination with Princess Luna unabated by her sudden illness.

Princess!

Hastily, Twilight levitated a quill, an inkpot, and a piece of parchment. She hadn’t heard from Princess Celestia all day, and could only assume that she was upset with Twilight about bothering her with petty troubles. She put the tip of the feather to her mouth, thinking of a good apology, and then began writing, iterating what she wrote aloud. It was Twilight’s own way of proofreading.

“Dear Princess Celestia,

“I really must apologize for my letter earlier. I was simply panic-stricken over a trivial nothing, and I am sorry for having wasted your time. I have, however, learned something new about friendship today. I learned that when the best of friends catch wind of something troubling you, they’re always first on the scene to make you feel better, even if you think that their assistance is unnecessary. Again, I apologize for my hastily written, panic-filled letter. It was irrational of me, and I’m deeply sorry to have inconvenienced you.

“Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle”

“Thou hast learned a valuable lesson here today, I think,” said a soft, yet authoritative voice. Twilight nearly fell out of her bed, and quickly turned to see whom the voice belonged to.

“P-princess Luna!” Twilight squeaked, scrambling out of her sheets to bow. All she ended up doing was wrapping the sheets around her like a cocoon and hitting the floor with a soft thud.

Luna nickered in amusement. “Please, Twilight Sparkle. Such formalities from thou are not necessary. After all, I should think that we have already established a certain familiarity.”

“B-but, you’re a princess-goddess,” Twilight stammered, floundering out of her sheets and nervously standing to her feet, all her instincts screaming for her to bow. And somewhere, an unquenchable urge yelled at her to examine Luna more closely. Twilight just stood there and stared, wide-eyed.

The Princess stood there, her mane and tail brilliant carpets of stars. Her cutie mark, and matching insignia stamped on her necklace, glowed with an inner radiance that, Twilight thought, was only fitting of a goddess.

Shaking her head out of here reverie, Twilight asked, “H-how long have you b-been standing here?”

“Only long enough to hear thou composing an over-apologetic letter to my sister,” Luna said. Making a face, her ears flicked in annoyance. “And I seem to keep slipping back into the old tongue.”

“Oh, d-don’t worry Princess Luna, I find it…” Twilight froze. She had been about to say cute, but that didn’t seem fitting of a princess-goddess. What do you say to a princess of that stature anyway?

“Yes, Twilight Sparkle?” Princess Luna looked at her with a mix of amusement and curiosity. “What do you find it to be?”

Twilight just mumbled something incomprehensible, and then straightened up. “Never mind, Princess,” she said, her cheeks tinged with red. “I don’t mind it at all.”

The Princess just nickered again. The sound was like pealing bells to Twilight’s ears. “Regardless, Twilight Sparkle, your profuse apologies are not necessary.”

“W-why?” Twilight asked, unable to shake her nervous stammer. While Twilight was trying to hold an intelligent conversation, all her mind could shout was squee!!!

”My sister has sent me to oversee and, if possible, assist in your speedy recovery,” Princess Luna said very matter-of-factly, making a split-second decision to omit Celestia’s fears. It wouldn’t serve to worry Twilight Sparkle unnecessarily, Princess Luna thought.

“O-oh!” Twilight squeaked. “I-I’m honored, of course…”

Princess Luna walked up to Twilight and put a hoof on her shoulder. “You also seem flustered,” Luna said, not unkindly. “Rest now, Twilight Sparkle. You look tired.”

“Y-yes, Princess,” Twilight managed to break through her squee!!! mentality long enough to levitate her sheets back onto her bed. “And Princess?”

“Yes, Twilight Sparkle?”

“Just call me Twilight.”

Potential

Twilight was dreaming. She was sure of that. I mean, she thought to herself, I really don’t have wings back in real life.

Lazily, Twilight stretched her wings out; reaching a wingspan that rivaled Princess Celestia’s. The Element of Magic tiara was nestled inside her mane, right in front of her horn, and she was dressed in gold slippers that covered her four hooves, with a golden necklace that had her cutie mark emblazoned on it wrapped around her neck.

Most of all, though, Twilight felt powerful.

Knowledge and raw magical energy coursed through her every vein, every fiber of her being. Her entire lavender coat glowed softly with all the energy, as if Twilight’s body was insufficient to hold all of it at once.

“That tiara looks wonderful on you,” a strange voice melded its way into Twilight’s thoughts. Twilight would have purred if she had been able; the voice was like a black silk, winding through Twilight’s ears. Nevertheless, Twilight was wary. She straightened up, taking in her surroundings for the first time. She observed the cast golden throne she was sitting upon, the various priceless pieces of art around her, the glass chandeliers that lined the ceiling, and the red velvet carpet that led right up to her throne. So, I’m in a royal reception hall.

“Not just any royal reception hall,” the voice purred, wrapping Twilight in its soft embrace, “YOUR royal reception hall.”

My hall? Twilight wondered. But I’m not royalty. I’m nopony special. The only ones deserving of a hall of this grandeur are the Princesses Celestia and Luna.

“They call themselves royal,” the voice continued to purr, yet there was an underlying sense of coldness, "and yet your power easily dwarfs theirs.”

Not a chance, Twilight thought, drawing her wings in tight against her side. They’d crush me soon as look at me if I even voiced that opinion.

“And yet, here you are. Twilight, my dear, you have yet to realize your full potential. The raw power at your hoovetips is immense, much more so than Celestia or Luna.”

Briefly noting the lack of the “Princess” title, Twilight just shrugged a little. After glancing around, she had noticed nopony in the room with her, so she relaxed again, spreading her wings out to a more comfortable position. And who are you, to say such treasonous things? Twilight wondered.

“Treason? Me? Twilight, you wound me with your callous words,” the voice said smoothly. “I’m only attempting to allow you to realize your potential. Just think of me as a guide.”

A guide? A guide to what? Twilight wondered. As she wondered, the fabric of her dream world began to fade to black at the edges. The last thing she heard before her dream vanished into oblivion was the silky voice laughing quietly.

~*~*~*~*~

“Twilight?”

Twilight grunted, wishing for Celestia to banish the annoying hoof prodding her side to the moon. She was still exhausted.

“Twilight…”

She groaned, refusing to open here eyes. This pony was persistant!

“TWILIGHT SPARKLE!”

OhmyCelestiawhatinhernamewasthatohjeezthatissoloud!

Twilight fell out of her bed in a heap, sheets tangled in her legs. Glaring at the offending pony, she came face to face with none other than Princess Luna herself. Twilight squeaked a little.

Luna just looked at her with a worried expression on her face. “You were muttering and thrashing in your sleep,” she said with concern. “Where you having a night- a bad dream?” Twilight faintly established Luna shying away from the word nightmare.

“Err,” Twilight untangled herself from her bed sheets, trying to recollect the dream she just had. It was like trying to hold water in her cupped hooves; it trickled away almost completely. Twilight just shrugged helplessly. “Sorry, Princess, I don’t remember. But beyond that, at the risk of sounding rude, why are you still here?”

Luna just levitated the sheets back onto Twilight’s bed, nimbly making it with a brow slightly furrowed in concentration. “Please, Twilight, just call me Luna,” she said kindly. “After all, you insisted that we be on more…familiar terms, yes?”

“O-of course, Pr- Luna,” Twilight felt a small blush creep on her face.

“As to my continued presence,” Luna gave Twilight a half smile, “My sister insisted that I stay here until she and I were convinced of your good health and speedy recovery. Since she will not take “she’s fine” as an answer for at least another week, I’m going to remain here and oversee your recovery.”

Then Luna glanced around and sighed. “Truth to be told, Twilight, I’m not really keen to return to the palace.” Twilight’s ears twitched slightly as a questioning look came over her face.

“Ever since ‘rebirthing’, so to speak, at the hands of the Elements of Harmony,” Luna spoke softly, which compelled Twilight to scoot closer to her, “I haven’t felt like I am ready to take up the mantle of night again.” She laughed softly, and without mirth. “Imagine that, a pony who is the very embodiment of night, not prepared to take her place,”

“I understand, Luna,” Twilight said softly. Luna turned a doubting look upon the lavender unicorn.

“Do you, Twilight?”

Twilight just nodded slowly. “I’ve been Princess Celestia’s protégé for quite a few years, now,” she said softly, scooting closer to Luna again. “Something that hasn’t happened for the better part of 200 years. I was the talk of Canterlot. People expected me to be everywhere, to be seen next to the Princess at all times. I was hounded for interviews, pictures, anything the paparazzi could get out of the “Promising Young Twilight Sparkle”,” Twilight said the name with soft undertones of disgust. “A jealous pony tried to poison me once, too. Concentrated Poison Joke, of all things.” Twilight frowned. “I never did find out what happened to her after the Princess found out.”

Luna shivered, imagining the kind of harsh punishment that her sister would deal to those trying to harm her pride and joy.

Twilight continued, “I was only a filly at that time, but I remember it clearly. I shut myself off from the rest of the world. I locked myself in the royal study, and only let my instructors and Princess Celestia in. I refused all contact with the outside world, and eventually, well, as the saying goes: “out of sight, out of mind”. Ponies forgot about me, which I wanted. I wasn’t ready to take on the mantle of being Princess Celestia’s prize student.”

Luna nodded. It’s a good analogy, she thought, but she doesn’t feel it calling to her every night, and doesn’t have to doubt the very essence of her being.

“I know it’s a meager analogy,” Twilight started. Luna flinched a little; could the lavender unicorn read minds, too? “But I can empathize, at least a little.”

“I’m grateful, Twilight,” Luna said, and was slightly surprised to realize that she meant it. In the palace, there weren’t many she could talk to about this. Her sister, yes, but that was about it. And yet, here she was now, pouring her heart out to some pony she had barely known, and whose first encounter wasn’t the most pleasant.

“How did you do it, Twilight?” Luna asked after a few minutes of silence.

“Do what, Pr-Luna?”

“How did you find it within yourself to act as kindly as you did to me?” Luna asked quietly. “When I arrived in Ponyville for Nightmare Night, I had an awful history of repression, rebellion, and imprisonment behind me. I stormed in demanding the affection of my subjects, yelling at them with tremendous amounts of volume. And,” Luna shrugged sheepishly, “I demanded that the weather corps schedule a lightning storm for more dramatic effect. Call it royal pride or perhaps even arrogance…” she trailed off, looking extremely sad. Twilight frowned slightly, opening her mouth to speak, but Luna continued. “All the residents of Ponyville ran from me, including your esteemed mayor.”

“Well, in all fairness, our mayor isn’t the best executive we could ask for,” Twilight muttered, remembering how Twilight herself had to take control of Winter Wrap Up.

Luna just shook her head. “It matters not. I had not made adoring subjects like I wished, and instead created fear. And not,” she added, smiling briefly, “the type of fear that makes ponies laugh and feel exhilarated.” The smile fled from her face as she continued, “I felt as hated and feared as I was under the influence of Nightmare Moon. So, in a bout of distinctly un-royal self pity, I broke down near a statue of the very thing that caused ponies to hate me in the first place.

“And then, out of nowhere, a compassionate unicorn showed up to ‘save the day’, as they say,” Luna looked the lavender unicorn right in the eyes, and Twilight felt herself blush. “Why, Twilight? How did you do it?”

“Oh, well, I…” Twilight trailed off, thinking. “I guess I know how difficult it is to be without friends,” she eventually said. “In all honesty, I couldn’t even begin to imagine life without the friends I’ve made since I arrived in Ponyville. We’ve only known each other for a comparatively short time, but Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack have all been the best friends a pony could ask for. And I thought nopony deserved to be without that kind of friendship,” she concluded, blushing again.

Luna just nodded thoughtfully. “That makes sense, in a roundabout sort of way.”

“I-I, well…” Twilight stammered. Luna just giggled and stretched her legs.

“Would you accompany me to your balcony?” Luna asked, turning toward the door of Twilight’s room.

“I-I’d be honored,” Twilight said with a nervous stiffness. Luna just smiled and swished her tail, walking out the door. Twilight anxiously followed. “Oh, I almost forgot. Do you have a couple of light blankets? Or perhaps just one, like a picnic blanket?”

“Oh, yes, of course I do,” Twilight spoke so fast that she tumbled over her words. Regaining her composure, she levitated a black blanket out of her linen closet a floor below, casually floating it up the stairs to come by her side.

Luna raised her eyebrows, and when she spoke, it was in an appreciative tone. “You know, not many ponies can levitate something on an entire other floor without looking at it. And you had to open the door telekinetically too, didn’t you?”

Twilight just shrugged. “I’ve lived here long enough that I know the layout. It wasn’t really hard. I just assumed that a bunch of ponies can do it. Can’t they?”

“I only know of three,” Luna said, mischievous undertones lining her voice.

“Who?”

“My sister, myself, and you.”

Twilight squeaked. Luna laughed at the sound, sending the church bells in Twilight’s ears ringing. Luna opened the door to the balcony quietly, gently taking telekinetic control of the blanket and spreading it out on the balcony floor, and settling herself on one of the sides.

Twilight just stood there, drinking in the sight of Luna at night. Her tail and mane seemed to glow even brighter in the light of Her moon than Celestia’s sun, even though the latter was definitely brighter, and her cutie mark, both on her flank and on her necklace, positively shone.

“Twilight?” Luna didn’t turn around, but her voice was inquisitive. “You can come join me, if you’d like.”

Twilight’s legs seemed to move by their own accord. She plodded up and settled next to the Princess, keeping a respectful distance between them.

“Twilight, you can lie on the blanket, too. There’s plenty of room.”

“Oh, r-right.”

As she gingerly scooted closer to the Princess of the Night, Twilight felt herself begin to relax. How many times had she lain on a blanket, looking up at the night sky? She was in familiar territory.

As Luna stretched her wings (up, not out), Twilight gazed up at the night sky. “I still can’t believe it sometimes,” she muttered quietly.

“What was that?” Luna said in equally quiet terms. “What can’t you believe?”

“That you made all of this,” Twilight whispered. “It seems…unfathomable. How long did it take you? How did you design all of these stars?”

Luna chuckled quietly. “The stars were a manifestation of my imagination. You’re looking at a sky that formed itself to my raw thoughts, and once I had the canvas up, so to speak, I tweaked the details a bit.”

“Like making Sirius the brightest star in the sky?” Twilight mused.

“Yes, kind of like that,” Luna replied.

They sat in silence, gazing at the Night Princess’s handiwork, for a few minutes. Twilight finally broke the silence, “Luna, what were you doing while I was asleep?”

Luna looked at Twilight curiously. “I read a few of your books. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Well, it is a library. I expect ponies to come and take something to read, as long as they bring them back.”

“True enough,” Luna said with another smile. She was surprised, really, to find how many times this small lavender unicorn could make her smile. “I also saved the book you were reading from certain binding destruction.”

“Oh!” Twilight squeaked. She had forgotten about leaving The Wonders and Mysteries of Luna’s Sky open on her lap. “How bad of me, a librarian treating a book like that.”

Luna just smiled. “Why do you ask, Twilight?”

“Well, judging by the travel time it takes for a speedy pegasus to fly from Ponyville to Canterlot, and vice versa, I’d have to say that Princess Celestia’s response to my letter,” Twilight went red from embarrassment at the pleading letter, “was rather immediate. And you’re wide awake now, showing almost no signs of fatigue, and you were awake this morning, conscious enough to make the trip from there to here, AND you stayed awake all while I was sleeping.”

“And the point is…?”

“Do alicorns need sleep?” Twilight cringed at the categorical term for what the two Princesses were. Open mouth, insert hoof.

“A genuine question,” Luna mused. “No, Celestia and I do not need sleep as most ponies do. Occasionally, we’ll rest our bodies the old fashioned way, and sleep for a few minutes…”

A few MINUTES? Twilight’s mind screamed, but kept listening attentively.

“…but usually we can keep ourselves invigorated off of our magical energy alone.” Luna concluded.”

“So, you don’t need to sleep,” Twilight repeated. Luna shook her head. “Wow,” the unicorn got a funny look in her eye. “Think of all the time I could save…”

Luna poked Twilight’s side with her horn, not hard enough to hurt, but drawing a squeak from the smaller unicorn. “If my sister knew you were thinking of that now, with your health being less than satisfactory, she’d be fraught with worry.”

“Well, some things don’t always make their way into my letters, you know,” Twilight said impishly.

“Oh, really?” Luna said, an equally impish look finding it’s way to her face. “Like what?”

And so Twilight launched into a recount of almost all of her friendship lessons, starting immediately after she moved to Ponyville. She left nothing out, including everything from Pinkie Pie’s mental shock to her own crazy antics.

“And then I said, ‘She’ll put you in a dungeon! Or banish you! Or put you in a dungeon in the place she banished you to!’”

Luna laughed merrily. “You really thought that my sister would be that harsh over good intentions?”

Twilight just shrugged, a joyous expression gracing her face. “I wasn’t really thinking straight at the time. I always want to make a good impression on her, you know?”

“Well, you’ve certainly made a good impression on one princess,” Luna remarked casually, sending butterflies that would put Fluttershy’s cutie mark to shame flying through Twilight’s stomach.

“Th-thank you,” she mumbled. After recounting all her (mis)adventures with her friends, she was suddenly hit by a wall of exhaustion, and Twilight yawned hugely.

Absently, Luna draped a wing over Twilight, and it was only then Twilight realized that she was shivering. Murmuring her thanks, Twilight nestled herself against Luna’s side, closing her eyes and sinking into a blissful oblivion, leaving Luna to gaze at her creation in the sky, the moon reflecting her calmness.

~*~*~*~*~

“Well, this is certainly unexpected,” the dark voice muttered to itself. It had grown in strength, the shadow stretching over a decently sized corner. Now that it had grown, it could see that it was contained in a room. There was only one door, and it was of an imposing size.

“This shouldn’t be as much of a problem as it’s making itself,” the shadow mused, all the raspy intonations gone. Experimentally, the shadow flowed like pitch black water towards the door, looking for a crack to slip through. The barrier was solid, though, and no tendril of the shadow could escape.

Growling in frustration, the shadow looked at the door again.

“The only way to open this, it seems, is to get past these locks,” the shadow growled dancing around the door. There were five of them total. One was in the shape of an impressive thundercloud, with a single bolt of lightning extending its way out of the base. The four other locks were arranged in a square around the thundercloud, one in the shape of an apple, one in the shape of a diamond, one in the shape of a butterfly, and one in the shape of a balloon.

“And what type of key would fit in these?” the shadow mulled over the obstacle. “Obviously, physical keys are out of the question. So what do I know about my unwitting host?”

The shadow swirled for a moment, thinking.

“Oh, of course. The Elements of Harmony are, once again, blocking my path. Magic is missing, naturally, because of who I’m residing in.

“It seems we have Loyalty,” the shadow hovered over the thundercloud, “Laughter, Honesty, Generosity, and Kindness…” the shadow hovered over the balloon, the apple, the diamond, and the butterfly in turn.

“Perhaps if I can sever the bond that ties the Elements together…” sifting through the few memories of Twilight Sparkle that the shadow had access to, she came across a familiar face.

“Oh, dearest Discord,” the shadow laughed triumphantly. “It seems you were no match for the magic contained within this small unicorn. But your idea…” as the shadow observed the memories of Twilight’s closest friends becoming the antithesis of their Element, it began to cackle, and a plot started to form.

Return of a Friend

“You know, this doesn’t have to be just a dream,” the black silky voice had returned, wrapping itself around Twilight as she stood on the balcony of her castle. Her wings were outstretched casually, as if she was prepared to take flight.

But it is just a dream, Twilight thought lazily. I’m nowhere near this powerful, really.

“Aren’t you, though? Wasn’t there a theory that dreams reflect reality?” the voice took on a teasing undertone, as if it was trying to goad Twilight into arguing with it.

Just because one theory was published by one pony doesn’t mean the tail feathers of a griffon, Twilight shrugged physically.

The voice just pleasantly laughed. “If you say so, Twilight…”

I do say so, Twilight asserted. And that shall be the end of it.

The voice was silent for a while. Twilight stood and gazed over the landscape. It was bathed in the soft glow of the moon, the stars offering a glimmering backdrop to its beauty. She smiled, fully appreciative of the natural artwork displayed before her.

“It IS quite the world you’ve created,” the voice agreed. “How nice it would be to actually live it…”

Twilight frowned. As much as she hated to admit it, the shadow was right. It would be kinda nice…

“But, of course, you don’t want my help to reach that end…” the shadow said with a tone of glumness. “Such a marvelous opportunity.”

Twilight felt a stirring sense of unease in her chest. It wasn’t unease at what the shadow was saying, and that is what bothered her the most. No, the unease sprouted from her realization that the voice was seriously tempting her. She yearned for the power that it promised, to “realize her full potential”, as the voice would put it.

“Admit it, Twilight…” the voice purred, “You’re at least interested.”

Slowly, almost painfully, Twilight nodded. I’ll keep it in mind…

~*~*~*~*~

When Twilight woke up, she was immediately aware of two things. The first is that she was tucked safely into her bed, instead of snuggled against a midnight blue alicorn. A wave of disappointment flowed through her, instantly followed by a wave of guilt.

She IS a princess, after all, Twilight thought. She was probably just being friendly. It was chilly for a summer night, after all.

The second thing Twilight realized is that it was raining. The soft pit-pat of raindrops striking the library’s roof was soothing to Twilight, and a low rumble of thunder, far off in the distance, caused Twilight to kick off the covers and just lay there contentedly.

I wonder what Luna is doing right now, Twilight thought idly, legs folded over her chest. Maybe she had some royal business to attend to, or maybe there was a crisis that somepony of her stature and power was required to solve the problem.

Twilight’s mind drifted off, concocting a scene where Princess Luna, in all her glory, was standing in the center of a plain, glaring at oncoming manticores. But these weren’t just any manticores. Their manes were a striking crimson, like the color of blood, and their fur was matted and torn up. Their eyes sparked with insanity as they let loose savage howls of bloodlust and rage. Twilight inadvertently shuddered. Fluttershy would go crazy.

Princess Luna, however, was unimpressed. She flared her wings up, horn glowing slightly, as her powerful voice projected across the plains,

“THOU SHALT NOT PASS!”

Cowering well behind Princess Luna were ponies of all size and color. Small colts and fillies cried softly, held protectively by their mothers. The stallions and mares not in charge of children formed a perimeter of sorts around the vulnerable parents. And almost everypony, without fail, was gazing in admiration and awe at the powerful Princess standing before them.

As the manticores neared, Luna’s outline began to shimmer. Her usually soft, radiant aura became pitch black, hardening to form an armor of sorts around her blue body. Luna narrowed her eyes, and sharp spikes began to extend from her armor.

The manticores were almost upon her. Sparing one look at the ponies huddled behind her, Luna’s expression hardened, declaring to everypony that failure was not an option. She gathered her weight on her haunches, wings folded against her side, and prepared to spring into battle…

Knock knock knock knock knock.

Twilight was snapped out of her reverie by a brisk knocking on her bedroom door. “Coming!” she called, extracting herself from her bed and wandering towards the door. Well, she thought with amusement, at least I didn’t fall out of bed this time.

Twilight opened the door to be met with a barrage of confetti. Loud party horns blared off from who-knows-where, and Twilight was suddenly wrapped in a hug from an ecstatic pink pony.

“Ohmigosh, Twilight! I’m so happy to be back and to see you again! It felt like FORRREEEEVERRRR since we’ve seen each other and I’m so excited I could just throw a party!”

“It’s great to see you too, Pinkie Pie!” Twilight said through a mouthful of pink mane. Weird. She tastes like cotton candy.

“I know! We should definitely throw a party! It’ll be a “Pinkie is finally back in town” party! But hey! What’s this?” Pinkie dashed over to Twilight’s desk and looked at a midnight blue scroll that Twilight had somehow failed to notice.

“It’s pretty! Is it a new kind of parchment?” Pinkie inquired, balancing the scroll on her nose.

“I honestly have no idea what that is…” Twilight said. Then she noticed the emblazoned seal on the scroll. It was in the shape of crescent moon. Luna’s cutie mark!

“Dear Twilight,” Pinkie read aloud before the scroll was snatched from her by Twilight’s magic. Twilight read with a controlled fanaticism:

Dear Twilight,

I request your presence at the bakery of Sugarcube Corner. Please hurry there at your convenience.

Yours,
Luna

Twilight’s eyebrows arched in surprise. The letter was short and sweet, but that wasn’t what made Twilight’s eyebrows shoot up; it was the distinct lack of any sort of formality in the letter at all.

“Oooh, we could go right now!” Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing around Twilight’s room with one of her famous umbrella hats fastened to her head.

“Pinkie, where did you get…oh, you know what? Never mind…” Twilight was so unsurprised by Pinkie’s antics at this point that she was even ready for a second umbrella hat that Pinkie procured to be jammed onto her head (mercifully missing her horn).

“Spike!” Twilight yelled out her door.

“Yeah?” came the dragons muffled reply. Ever since Princess Luna had ‘moved’ into Twilight’s bedroom, Spike had respectfully removed his basket and stationed it on the floor below, in the main room of the library.

“We’re going to Sugarcube Corner. Do you want to come with us?”

“Nah, not really. I already had a couple of garnet pancakes, and I have some serious sleep to catch up on,” was Spike’s reply.

“Suit yourself,” Twilight muttered, but made a mental note to pick up one of his favorite sapphire cupcakes for him when they arrived at the Corner. “You ready Pinkie?”

“I was BORN ready!” she said happily, bouncing down the stairs. Twilight, rolling her eyes, followed.

“So I’ve heard you’ve been super-duper sick lately!” Pinkie said once they were out of the library. The umbrella hats were surprisingly effective at keeping the rain off of Twilight’s head, but her body wasn’t so lucky; after a few minutes, her coat was completely soaked.

“I haven’t been seriously ill,” Twilight said, “Just feeling a little under-the-weather.”

“Oh, do you know what I do when I’m feeling under-the-weather?” Pinkie said.

“Party?”

“Oh, Twilight, you’re so silly for such a smart filly sometimes. I take medicine to make me feel better. And then I party!”

“I should have known…” Twilight muttered. Despite her words, a smile had slowly been spreading across Twilight’s face. The pink pony’s energy and perpetual good mood was contagious.

As they neared Sugarcube Corner, Twilight noted the windows were dark, and said as much to her pink companion.

“Maybe the power went out!” Pinkie said cheerfully, bouncing up to the door. Twilight gave her a skeptical look as she walked through the light of a nearby lamppost.

Pinkie Pie opened the door for Twilight, gesturing her to go inside. Twilight nodded her thanks and shook out her hair before walking into the bakery.

“SURPRISE!”

Twilight jumped as even more confetti exploded all around her, the lights were all turned on at once, and more party horns blared from every direction. And there, surrounded by her five closest friends (Pinkie had somehow teleported from the door to the group) was Princess Luna herself, wearing a very amused expression.

“Guys! P-Luna!” Twilight’s eyes went wide.

“Isn’t it great? I ran into Luna on the way home, and she said she was making sure you got all better as fast as possible, and so I thought, IDEA! we should totally have a party! And if we had a party now, we could call it the “Pinkie Pie comes home and Twilight gets better and Princess Luna is living in Ponyville party!” Words of agreement and amusement came from her other four friends.

Still wearing the amused expression, Luna walked over to Twilight and whispered in her ear. “Do you like it?” Her voice made Twilight shiver, and all the unicorn could do was nod.

“Enough standing around!” Pinkie Pie yelled, cranking up the jukebox (where she got the jukebox was anypony’s guess). “LET’S DANCE!”

~*~*~*~*~

The party went on for hours. They played all of the most popular games, like Pin the Tail on the Pony, Twister (a new game Pinkie had found. It involved spinning a small needle around on a chart, multiple colored dots, and often embarrassing contortions), and Pinkie even brought out a Poñata that was filled with (what else?) candy. Applejack had brought down some of her “special” cider from Sweet Apple Acres, and pretty soon everything from apple cider to cherry cider was flowing freely. As Twilight became more and more inebriated, things began to run together…

…Fluttershy, who had said hardly a thing the entire afternoon (and well into the evening), grabbed the microphone off of the karaoke machine after her fourth mug of cherry cider and began belting out “Colts, Colts, Colts,”, by Mare Gaga, before a hysterical Rainbow Dash managed to wrest the microphone away…

…Applejack and Rainbow Dash got into an arm wrestling competition, which was quickly sabotaged by Luna and Twilight as they floated feathers from Luna’s wings and tickled the underside of the competitor’s arms. Luna was spared from the resulting round of headlocks because of her royal standing…

…and after that, Applejack and Rainbow Dash vanished for at least an hour. Pinkie Pie (who, strangely enough, was the only one not partaking in heavy amounts of cider) was the only one who noticed, but was quickly swept up in the four-pony round of “The Hokey-Pokey”…

…which Luna, despite being just as drunk as everypony else there, sang the words to, an entire musical key below, which made all the ponies there dissolve into bubbly fits of laughter…

…at some point, Rainbow Dash and Applejack returned, silly grins on both of their faces and still incredibly drunk, and began dancing again, flank by flank, and anypony could have guessed what they had been up to…

…and when Princess Luna herself briefly passed out, falling on top of Twilight, Pinkie Pie deemed that all the ponies had finally had enough of hard cider, and declared the party over. She handed out two cups to everypony, explaining that one cup was peppermint extract and was supposed to clear the mind of a drunken pony and prevent hangovers, and the other was water. She didn’t need to explain what the water was for, Twilight quickly found, as the peppermint burned like fire on it’s way down their throats, which caused the ponies to chug the water as fast as possible.

“Alright, everypony!” Pinkie Pie said sternly, but kindly. “It’s time to get out of Sugarcube Corner! You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here, got it?”

“Haha…Pinkie, what time is it?” Rainbow Dash slurred, leaning against Applejack.

“It’s almost midnight, party ponies. You’ve been here for over twelve hours!” the pink pony replied with a smile.

“OhmyCelestiawhataparty,” Fluttershy slurred together, attempting to flap her wings and get off the ground, and failing miserably. “Ohwell,IguessIcanjustwalkhome.”

“Ha, yeah…hey, AJ, do ya mind if I crash at your place? I don’ really feel good about flyin’ home like this.” Rainbow fluttered her eyes at the strong orange pony.

“Shore thing, RD. Y’all know yer welcome over anytime y’all darn well please,” she slurred.

“It’s been a FABULOUS time, Pinkie, you always know how to throw the GREATEST of parties, but I simply MUST get home, Sweetie Belle might be WORRIED ‘bout me…
–hic- …and I really must go…” Rarity’s eyes were half closed, and she was swaying like a leaf in a breeze.

“Oh, Rarity, you silly pony,” Pinkie Pie laughed and pushed Rarity up the stairs of the bakery. “You can sleep in my bed until you’re fit to walk!” Pinkie’s cheerful voice drowned out any feeble protest that Rarity might have made.

Twilight giggled daintily and pushed against Luna with her shoulder, making the alicorn wobble a few steps. “We should probably get home too, Luna.” Twilight said quietly, peppermint doing wonders on eliminating the slur from her voice.

“Verily,” the Princess agreed. “Are all the parties in Ponyville so…” Luna struggled to find the right word.

“Crazy?” Twilight offered. The alicorn nodded.

“No, they really aren’t. I guess Pinkie Pie pulled out all the stops for this one. And I don’t think anyone saw all that cider coming,” Twilight noticed the little blush that had been fixed on Luna’s face ever since she passed out. How cute…

Luna snorted. Twilight thought it was the most adorable sound in the world. It’s funny. She’s larger than I am, and I’m calling her adorable. “It certainly was fine cider. Give…”

“Applejack,” Twilight supplied.

“Give Applejack royal compliments,” Luna said with a smile on her face. Suddenly, she drew herself up, and tried to look very serious.

“Oh, Luna, how unbecoming of you!” the Princess of the Night said in a mocking tone of Celestia. Even inebriated, Twilight could tell that Luna was making fun of her sister. “Getting drunk at a party!”

Twilight giggled again. “You’re good at that!”

Luna dissolved into her own fit of giggles. “Nights like these make me glad I have personal time.”

Twilight nodded, gazing up at Luna. “I-I’m glad you have free time too,” the lavender unicorn said quietly, as she boldly pressed into the alicorn’s side. Oh, Celestia, Twilight! What are you doing?

Twilight cringed as she felt Luna stiffen in surprise, and went to move away, but found herself blocked by a large, dark blue wing. Luna had folded her wing over Twilight, keeping her close, not unlike the previous night on the balcony.

And so they walked home like that, not caring who saw them.

~*~*~*~*~

“Aaahh!” Twilight sighed and collapsed on the couch, exhausted yet happy. “What a night!”

As they had entered the library, they found the place spotless. Everything had been organized, dusted, and cleaned, and Spike was snoozing quietly in his basket. Twilight had smiled at the sight, still pressed against Luna, and had carefully levitated the sapphire cupcake, setting it next to Spike’s bed.

Luna nodded. “I can finally let my mane down, so to speak.”

Twilight turned a quizzical look on Princess Luna, only to be shocked at what she saw. Luna’s entire body began to glimmer, and her mane and tail began to ripple. Slowly, they started to change in appearance. Luna began to glow a deep blue. The glow was intense at first, and then started to recede, almost as if Princess Luna was absorbing the light.

After the light show ended, Luna stood there with her necklace in her hooves, not around her neck. Her mane and tail had ceased to flow with the night stars, and instead were a soft blue, slightly brighter than her coat. She sighed and set it on a table. Twilight noticed that she was now slightly smaller. But only slightly.

“L-luna?” Twilight stuttered. Her usual awe of the Princess was now replaced with a warm feeling that slowly started to spread across her chest, spreading to the tips of her hooves and putting butterflies in her stomach.

Princess Luna smiled, making Twilight’s heart melt. “’Tia never told you?”

“Told me what?”

“That she and I put enchantments upon our necklaces. We call it “Royal Glamor”. It allows us to reflect the power we hold inside us.” Luna laughed daintily, making bells chime in Twilight’s ears. “It works wonders for our public image.”

“Well, I think you look gorgeous either way,” Twilight said without thinking. She clapped a hoof over her mouth.

Once again, open mouth, insert hoof.

Her eyes went wide as Luna actually blushed. “I haven’t ever had anypony tell me that before,” she said quietly.

Emboldened by that (or the lingering effects of all the alcohol), Twilight rolled off the couch and stood next to Luna. “It’s absolutely true, you know,” she said quietly.

Luna pressed into Twilight’s side, muttering her thanks. Well, that’s a switch, some indignant part of Twilight’s brain piped up.

They stood there like that, pressed up against each other, for a few minutes. “You should get to bed, you know,” Luna said after a while. “You’re still recovering, despite how hard we partied tonight.”

“Oh, alright…” Twilight said reluctantly.

Luna smiled and entwined her tail with Twilight’s. “Come on, I’ll tuck you in.”

Giving a shy smile, Twilight let Luna lead her up to her room. As Luna swiftly arranged the sheets properly and readied them for sleeping, Twilight just pressed against her side, inhaling the scent of her idol; her idol, who had suddenly become so much more tangible, and who was now touchable.

Twilight climbed in the newly-made bed, murmuring words of gratitude. Her head hit the pillow and she instantly began drifting off, sinking into slumber. In her last moment of consciousness, she felt a soft kiss grace her cheek, and fell asleep smiling.

~*~*~*~*~

The shadow whirled around in annoyance. It had been watching its host’s antics for the past hours, and they had done nothing for its disposition.

“How sickening,” it muttered darkly. “Affection is for the feeble and the meek.”

Turning its attention back to the door, it began to trace little lines, leaving behind thin shadowy scars on the imposing structure. As it traced, it began to chant softly.

“Only five of the Elements of Six
Are physical and real
But the sixth one of them
Is real and true corporeal

For the five of them are weak
Without the initial spark
And if they have it not
Their shortcomings are stark

Break the bond between them
And watch them fall apart
So with this sketch and this verse
Let the tragedy START.”

Blocked

Twilight found herself before two beautiful alicorn statues. This is impressive artwork, she mused. Whoever the artist was did an impeccable job.

“Who says that they’re true statues?” a familiar silky voice wound its way around Twilight’s head. Twilight ruffled her wings in apprehension.

I don’t like what you’re implying, Twilight thought cautiously. She scratched the ground with her gold-clad hoof nervously.

“Remember what happened to Discord, love? Well, if you look closely, these alicorns have absolute looks of hatred upon their faces," the shadow purred. "Fact of the matter is, Celestia and Luna would go renegade if anything ever threatened their power. The empire they’ve constructed would not be given up easily. In this world of yours, the two 'beloved' princesses tried to fight you. You can see how well they did.

I’m not even interested in overthrowing anyone, Twilight thought, but a doubt began to take root in the back of her mind, and no matter how hard she tried to burn it out, it stubbornly clung.

“Ah, intent doesn’t really matter in a game as dangerous as the one they play,” the voice’s words flowed like molten gold through Twilight’s ears. “They would perceive someone with your power as a threat. Especially that mentor of yours.”

Celestia wouldn’t turn on me, Twilight thought. That nagging doubt made her thoughts less certain than she would like them to be.

“We’re talking about the same alicorn, right? The one who banished her own sister to the moon for a THOUSAND YEARS?” The emphasis on the timeline made Twilight wince. “That was for a total insurrection, yes. But why would Celestia want to go through that kind of conflict again? Don’t think she wouldn’t turn on her own protégé. Not if her authority was at stake.”

Twilight suddenly was filled with disgust and contempt at the sight of the statues. She turned away, briefly considering destroying the statues. Not worth my time, she decided, and briskly walked away.

“Oh, Twilight, I hate to see you doubt yourself like this…” the voice wrapped around Twilight like a scarf. “There’s really only one way to avoid this kind of confrontation, you know.”

Oh? And what is this way? Despite the laden sarcasm, Twilight already knew the answer. And it sickened her.

“Learn to use your power, and strike first.”

~*~*~*~*~

Twilight awoke in a cold sweat, her head pounding. She groaned and rolled over, looking at the clock.

“Fantastic,” she grumbled. The clock read 4 o’clock in the morning. Twilight sighed and rolled over the other way…

…and rolled right into the other pony occupying her bed. Princess Luna was sleeping soundly, wings tucked snuggly at her sides.

Twilight just stared at her for a while. Even asleep, she was breathtaking. Twilight studied every aspect of her face, her soft blue mane, and even the little sounds she made. Soon, Twilight discovered that every other breath Luna took was a cute little snore that made Twilight giggle a little each time.

Making as little disturbance as possible, Twilight extricated herself from the bed, and then froze, a massive blush coming over her face. Did…did anything happen last night? Five hundred worries flew through Twilight’s mind, not the least of which was I don’t know anything about that! Did I make a fool of myself?

Glancing back at Luna, resting peacefully in Twilight’s bed, she resolved not to make herself worried sick over it. Quietly, she opened the door to her bedroom and slipped out, padding down the stairs to the kitchen. She briefly considered making coffee, but decided against it, reaching for her favorite peach ginger tea. With a brief mental apology to Applejack (the orange earth pony had provided Twilight with a special apple tea blend, but after the previous night’s antics, Twilight wasn’t sure that she wanted to taste anything apple related for at least another few hours.

Sleepily, she floated down two of the tea bags and put them in a cup, filling the cup with water and heating it magically. Sighing happily as the smell reached her nose, she tentatively put a bit of sugar in her tea.

“Forever the sweet tooth?” a melodious voice pitched in from behind her. A warm body pressed itself against Twilight’s side, and she was unsurprised to see Luna standing next to her.

“Who told you about my sweet tooth?” Twilight asked. Luna just gave her a look that said who do you think?

Twilight sighed. “Pinkie Pie?” Luna nodded.

“What are you drinking? It smells delicious,” Luna twined their tails together, like she did last night. It sent shivers up Twilight’s spine.

“Well I was going to make coffee,” Luna stuck her tongue out, and Twilight grinned, “But opted for my favorite ginger peach tea.”

“Tea!” Luna said excitedly, clapping her hooves together.

Twilight levitated another cup down and asked, “Would you like some, too?”

An impish look crossed Luna’s eyes as she bit Twilight on the ear, hard enough to make the unicorn yelp. During the distraction, Luna wrapped Twilight’s cup in her own magic, took a sip, and sighed gratefully. “Absolutely, Miss Sparkle, thank you for the generous offer.”

Twilight looked crossly at Luna and rubbed her ear. “That hardly seemed necessary,” she whined.

Luna adopted as haughty of a look as she could with her bedraggled mane. “Are you going to deny the Princess of the Night her right to morning tea?” She asked, throwing a hoof into the air.

Twilight dissolved into giggles. “Oh, no, of course not, my Princess,” she said falling into a steep curtsy. Her legs wobbled slightly as she stood back up. “Heh, I guess the party from last night hasn’t completely worn off yet…”

Luna just smiled and sipped her newly acquired tea. “It really is delicious, Twilight,” she said with a slight tone of satisfaction. “And the sugar does make for a wonderful additive.”

Twilight blushed a little, floating another two tea bags down to restart the tea making process.

Luna meandered over to Twilight’s table and sat down lightly. “It’s been so long since I’ve actually slept longer than an hour. I feel greatly refreshed!” the alicorn stated happily, stretching all her limbs.

Twilight yawned hugely, but still managed a smile. “I’m glad to hear it,” she said. And that means nothing actually happened in bed last night!

“Oh, my apologies, Twilight,” Luna said suddenly. Twilight’s face instantly became a deep shade of crimson. Can Luna read minds?! “I keep forgetting you’re used to long hours of sleep.”

Twilight visibly relaxed. Phew. “It’s fine,” she waved off any hint that she might be tired with a casual hoof, then yawned hugely again.

“Oh, no it most certainly is not!” Luna said. “Under normal circumstances, I would issue a royal decree that would force you to go back to bed!”

Twilight grimaced, and a wave of disappointment flushed through her. I don’t want to miss out on any time with Luna, Twilight realized. Even at the cost of sleep deprivation.

“However, these are not normal circumstances,” Luna’s cheeks became tinged with pink as she continued, “and I’d really like to spend more time with you. So, do you mind if we cheat, just once?”

“You know, I’ve never actually cheated before,” Twilight said, mind wandering back to her days under Princess Celestia’s direct tutelage.

Princess Luna just chuckled. “Well, this isn’t really cheating, per se, but a different path to the goal. Sound better?”

Twilight nodded, the smile she wanted to put on interrupted by another huge yawn.

“Right then, just close your eyes and try to relax,” Luna said, her horn glowing with a soft blue light.

Twilight did as she was told. She felt Luna’s horn graze against hers and jumped a little. It was an interesting feeling, to say the least. But then, she felt Luna’s magic envelope her. She didn’t have to look to see a soft blue light radiating around her own body. It felt like she was being caressed by a gentle summer night’s breeze, or being wrapped in a warm cloud. As the feeling began to sink into her bones, she felt a source of energy well up inside her, as if Luna’s magic was burning away the exhaustion from her bones.

“Wow,” Twilight managed to say after the entire process was complete. “What was that?”

“My morning routine,” Luna responded impishly. “I perform that little spell on myself every time the moon goes up and every time it goes down. I like to stay in practice.”

“Amazing… I could seriously get so much work done with that spell…” Twilight muttered, sipping her tea.

Luna snorted, “Where’s the fun in that? On second thought, don’t answer that,” she put a hoof up to Twilight’s mouth as the unicorn prepared a monologue about the enjoyment of knowledge.

“What are we going to do first?” Luna pondered.

“Well, you know there aren’t many places that are open at five o’clock in the morning,” Twilight said dryly.

Luna giggled. “You sound like my sister when you take on that tone of voice.”

Twilight blinked. “Really?”

“Yes! Very prudish,” the alicorn princess replied impishly.

“I do NOT consider my modesty and pragmatism to be prudish, thank you very much!” Twilight huffed. Then, in a quieter tone, she added, “But maybe I am a bit too uptight about things.”

Luna just pressed against Twilight’s side wordlessly and twined their tales together. “Twilight Sparkle, don’t change yourself,” she said suddenly. “You’re a wonderfully gifted unicorn who is beautiful, smart, and kind.”

Twilight’s mind reeled at the sudden praise. I know she isn’t drunk anymore, because that spell burned the alcohol from my body. And by the looks of things, she cast the spell on herself, as well.

“Th-thank you, Luna,” Twilight murmured. “But I’m nothing special, really. You’re a gorgeous, intelligent, powerful and benign princess. I couldn’t hold a candle to you.”

“I don’t think so. You’re amazing,” Luna said quietly. They stood there, tails entwined, pressed against each other’s sides for a while. Twilight’s mind was calmed, and she was enjoying the moment.

“Would you like to sit down?” Twilight asked after a while. Luna nodded, letting Twilight lead her to a couch situated in a study, tucked in a corner of the library.

“I know quite a bit about your past adventures now,” Luna said quietly after situating herself comfortably on the couch, “but I don’t really know a lot about you.”

“About me?” Twilight frowned, thinking. “There’s not really much to tell. What do you want to know?”

“While I was in the castle,” Luna recalled, “a new hoofmaiden arrived. Shy little thing, I tell you. As I was on my way to have lunch with ‘Tia, I overheard her and one of the senior maids playing a game called ‘Twenty Questions’.” Luna frowned. “Apparently, it’s designed to get to know someone better through a series of questions about the newer person.”

“Oh, right!” Twilight smiled. “Fillies my age always played that.” Then Twilight’s face fell. “I was never invited to play, though…”

“Well, we can play now!” Luna said triumphantly, raising a hoof into the air. “Who goes first?”

“Well, since you brought it up, you can ask questions first.” Twilight said with a half smile.

“Oh, okay!” Luna screwed up her face, her mind searching for an appropriate lead question. “Alright, what is your favorite flower?”

“A rose,” Twilight promptly replied.

“Why a rose? Also, that doesn’t count as one of my twenty.”

“Cheating already, Princess?” Twilight teased. “I’ve just always found roses to be the prettiest flower. See?” Her horn glowed for a moment as she levitated a midnight blue rose from out of a vase display in the main library.

“Oh, it’s beautiful,” Luna said, eyeing the rose appreciatively. “How did you get the petals to be such a beautiful blue? That also does not count.”

“Carefully,” Twilight replied impishly. “I had to study my copy of A Botanical Guide to the Flora of Equestria, and then had to alter a particular illusion spell to make the effects permanent and isolated.”

Luna whistled softly, impressed. “That’s some serious magic.”

Twilight just shrugged. “It was complex, sure, but not particularly taxing. You know, you were the inspiration for the color…”

Luna nuzzled Twilight. “It looks wonderful, Twilight.”

“Here, you can have it,” the unicorn said, nestling the rose in Luna’s soft blue mane.

“Thank you. Now, on to the true question two…” Luna thought for a minute. “Favorite food?”

“Oh, definitely dandelion sandwiches,” Twilight replied. “Easy to make and, when seasoned just right, extremely delicious.”

“I have not had a ‘sandwich’ before,” Luna remarked.

Twilight gasped. “We need to fix that!”

“Maybe after we’re done?”

Twilight grumbled, “Oh, all right…”

They went on like this for an hour, trading questions back and forth. It wasn’t until the sun was on the precipice of the horizon when Luna turned to Twilight, a very serious look in her eye, and asked the unicorn, “Have you ever been in love?”

Twilight stared at Luna. How am I supposed to answer? She thought back to her first time seeing the Princess of the Night, when she had begged forgiveness of her sister. She thought back to Nightmare Night, when something inside Twilight compelled her to help the lonely alicorn. She thought of all the sketches under her bed, her ‘artistic’ expression of Luna’s sky, and her midnight blue roses. All of these things made Twilight turn to Luna and say,

“Only recently, Princess.”

Luna smiled a knowing smile as the sun steadily rose higher in the sky. Twilight blushed during the subsequent silence.

“Wh-what are we going to do first?” Twilight stammered nervously. Have I driven her away? Was that a trap? Oh, what am I going to do…?

“Well, what’s fun to do in the morning hours?”

Twilight thought carefully. “Well, we could always go and relax by the lake for a while. I haven’t been there recently, and I usually find it really good for meditation, or studying.”

“You meditate?” Princess Luna said with surprise.

“Well, I have to,” Twilight replied evenly. “If I don’t, my emotions usually break through the thin wall I have to keep around my magic. This helps me stay in check.”

“I shall join you, then,” Luna replied. “It has been a while since I’ve meditated as well.”

“Awesome!” the thinly veiled enthusiasm in Twilight’s voice made Luna smile once more. “And we can pack a picnic for lunch! And you can finally have a sandwich!”

“Great!” Luna said around a bout of giggles. Twilight was nearly bouncing around the room in a very Pinkie Pie-like fashion.

“I’ll just have to write a note for Spike and my friends, but that won’t take too long. Then I’ll make our lunch and we’ll be on our way!” Twilight dashed upstairs to fetch parchment and a quill, all magic forgotten in her excitement.

“I want to help make the sandwiches!” Luna called after her.

~*~*~*~*~

A horrible scream rent the air as the shadow swirled furiously.

“How DARE she. How DARE THAT ALICORN!” it hissed with an otherworldly sound. “How dare she block my plans! I should have done away with that useless princess when I had the chance!” The shadow swirled around the door, trying vainly to reach it’s quickly-disappearing sketches.

“No! NO!” It screamed again as the last of the spindly shadows vanished off of the door, which was now bathed in a soft midnight-blue light. Every time the shadow attempted to reach the door, a crescent moon appeared and blocked the shadow’s path. If the shadow expanded, so did the moon. If the shadow divided itself into multiple shadows, the moon multiplied accordingly.

“Mark my words, you useless star pony,” the shadow hissed, sparking with a dark energy in its anger, “you will be the LAST to die. I will kill every single pony you hold dear right in front of your eyes, and you WILL suffer the longest.

“And I. Will. End You.”

Destruction

Spike:

I’ve gone to spend most of the day with Princess Luna. We’ll be at the lake for the first part, and then go where our hooves take us after that. If our friends ask where I am, tell them where we are, but ask them to not bother us unless absolutely necessary.

Love,
Twilight

Satisfied, Twilight set down her quill with a smile. While she loved all of her friends to death and beyond, today was going to be special. She could just feel it.

“Twiiiiiiliiiiiight…” Luna called up the stairs.

“Yeeeees?”

“I am anxious to start the sandwich-making!” Luna called back. Twilight could just picture one of Luna’s front hooves going into the air as she said that.

“Alright, alright! I’m coming,” Twilight said with a laugh. “Yeesh.”

After pinning the note to the front door, Twilight beckoned for Luna to follow her back into the kitchen. Opening up the icebox, she floated out a loaf of poppy seed bread and a large container of greens.

“What manner of baked good is this?” Luna asked, sniffing at the loaf of bread.

Twilight giggled. “It’s bread,” she said patiently. Luna just gave her a blank look. “Err, bread is kind of like…” shoot. What would Luna know that I could compare bread to? “Oh! It’s like a cupcake minus the frosting.”

Luna just shook her head. “That seems silly.”

“Here, just try a piece,” Twilight insisted, taking the bread out of its protective wax parchment wrapping.

Luna levitated out a slice. “It is cut in the most peculiar manner, too.” Tentatively, she nibbled at the corner of the slice. Then she took another bite, larger this time, chewing it with a thoughtful look in her eye. “It is certainly not as sugary sweet as cupcakes are,” she said slowly, “but I can see the appeal. The plainness it has can sometimes be desirable.”

Twilight giggled again, levitating out two pieces of bread and setting them on the counter. “Here, try this!” she said, floating out four or five dandelions and a slice of tomato and squishing them between the two slices of bread.

Luna enveloped the sandwich in her own magic and gave Twilight a skeptical look. Twilight nodded fiercely, and Luna took a bite out of the corner.

“Mmm. MMM!” Luna’s eyes went wide and she looked at the sandwich with wonder. “Ffw cnf anftngg-“ she swallowed her mouthful of sandwich, “that is so simple be so good?”

“The wonders of sandwiches, Princess,” Twilight said with a smile, already levitating out more slices of bread. “Did you see how I made them?”

“Oh, yes, I did. Twilight, I could eat these all day! They’re right up there with glorious Moon Pies on Princess Luna’s Deliciousness Detector!”

Twilight couldn’t help herself. She collapsed on the floor laughing, tears streaming from her eyes as she struggled to breathe. Luna just rolled her eyes.

“Are you done?” the alicorn asked shortly.

“Haha... yeah,” Twilight replied, wiping the tears from her eyes and standing back up.

“Hmph. Let us commence with the sandwich making!”

~*~*~*~*~

Thirty minutes and six sandwiches later, Luna and Twilight departed the library, making for the lake. Twilight had an insulated icebox with two containers of their favorite ginger peach tea and the sandwiches floating beside her, while Luna had taken the picnic blanket.

“It’s really lovely today!” Twilight said happily. Even though it was only around eight o’clock in the morning, there was a warm breeze that wove its way through Ponyville, and the temperature was like the old tale of Goldimane: not too hot, and not too cold.

“Agreed,” Luna said. Before they left, she had donned her necklace again, the magic inside of it transforming her back into the real Princess Luna, with flowing stars in her mane and tail. “Summer has always been one of my favorite seasons, even before my… incident.”

Twilight pressed against the now familiar side of Luna. “I’m glad we got that all straightened out,” she said, ears twitching as she thought she heard a pony chuckle. Glancing around, she determined that it was simply her imagination; there wasn’t another equine soul in sight.

“I am, as well,” Princess Luna said gratefully. “Now, where is the lake?”

“It isn’t really that far away from here,” Twilight said, gesturing towards Canterlot. The palace shone, and even from the many miles that separated Equestria’s capitol and Ponyville, Twilight and Luna could see it. “All we have to do is walk towards Canterlot and we’ll be there in almost no time at all.”

They walked in silence for a while, and then Luna spoke. “Tell me about your friends.”

Twilight was slightly surprised at the question. “Well, what do want to know?”

“What are they like? What are their personalities like?”

“Well, I guess we can start with Rainbow Dash,” Twilight smiled and looked up at the sky. “She’s energetic, outgoing, flashy, and confident. Sometimes, she can be arrogant, but it’s usually well earned. She’s an amazing flyer, and she’s most at home in the sky. She’s also loyal to the bitter end, hence her embodiment of the Element of Loyalty.”

Luna nodded. That made sense, from what she had observed from the rainbow pegasus thus far. “Is there anything going on between Rainbow Dash and the orange earth pony?” Luna inquired.

Twilight stumbled over her own hooves, blushing ferociously. “W-we try to keep that as hush hush as possible, you know?” the unicorn said. “Ponyville is kind of a small town, and rumors spread quickly. Plus, a pairing of two mares is still a little bit of a shock to some ponies. Not traditional, you know? Even though Princess Celestia has endorsed mare and mare relationships, some towns are just slow to accept new ideas.”

“I understand,” Luna nodded. Luna herself had always been an advocate of the freedom of expression ever since she returned from the moon, and relationships had been one of her focal points.

“Speaking of Applejack,” Twilight said, deciding it was a good segue into describing her best friend, “she’s one of the hardest workers Ponyville has to offer. She and Big Macintosh, her brother, support the entire Apple family on their work in the orchards. She’s strong and kind, and rather understanding, if a little stubborn. She’s Rainbow Dash’s biggest athletic rival, too. Remember when I told you about the Running of the Leaves?”

Luna nodded. “And I’m still impressed you took fifth.”

Twilight blushed, but continued. “Ever since that day, the two have been inseparable training partners. Those two are as fit as any pony in Equestria. And, of course, Applejack can be honest, even brutally so. It’s why she’s the Element of Honesty.”

“I see. What about the yellow pegasus? Fluttershy?” Luna inquired. “I bet Rainbow Dash doesn’t hold a hoof to Fluttershy’s outgoing attitude!” The alicorn was fondly recalling what she could remember of the party.

Twilight giggled. “Actually, Fluttershy is extremely, well, shy. She’s been on the ground ever since she was a little filly, and she grew up around animals. Her kindness has earned her the trust of many of them, including a giant bear that she occasionally gives massages to.”

“Scaring the living daylights out of you in the process,” Luna interjected. She remembered that story from Twilight’s recollections. “Also, I remember now. Fluttershy was the pony you took me to see to try and reign in my ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE!”

Twilight nodded. “Fluttershy is the meekest and kindest pony you will ever meet. She’s the only pony that Discord had to cheat with to make her turn on me.”

“And it still didn’t work,” Luna said with a smile.

“Right. There isn’t much else to say about Fluttershy, other than she’s the Element of Kindness.”

“So who’s next?”

“Well, there’s only two left, Pinkie Pie and Rarity”

“Tell me about Rarity, then.”

Twilight smiled. “Rarity is a fashionista. She owns Carousel Boutique all by her lonesome. Have you been there?”

Luna shook her head. “No, I haven’t. Remind me to do that sometime.”

“The dresses she makes are fabulous. She’s been able to support both herself and her sister by selling them to various celebrities and the wealthy elite class back in Canterlot. She’s the Element of Generosity, and I’m reminded of it almost every day.”

“How so?”

“It seems that, no matter where we are or what happens; Rarity always has something that she’s willing to give up, or part with, to ensure the happiness of her friends.”

“Oh,” Luna cast her eyes downward. “It must be nice, to have friends like that…”

Twilight pressed against Luna’s side, nuzzling her neck. Luna smiled at the gesture, brightening slightly.

“That leaves us with Pinkie Pie, then,” Luna prompted.

Twilight nodded. “Oh, where to begin with Pinkie Pie? You know how, supposedly, unicorns are supposed to be the only race of the three gifted with magic, right?” Luna nodded. “Well, I thought that until I met Pinkie Pie. Not only does she seem to disregard all the laws of physics, but she can fit in impossibly small spaces and has a tendency to pop out of anywhere at any time with not warning whatsoever! Plus, she has a ‘Pinkie Sense’, which basically amounts to a varying sequence of gyrating body parts to warn her of things to happen.”

Luna laughed a little.

“Oh, you laugh, but I’ve experienced this first hand!”

“Yes, Twilight, I remember,” Luna replied. “You told me about this, remember?”

“Oh, right… Then you know she can go a little crazy, too.” Luna nodded again. “It’s only fitting that she be the Element of Laughter. She makes it a point to welcome every new pony in Ponyville, or throw the best parties, or just generally make everypony laugh.”

“I see. Thank you for sharing, Twilight,” Princess Luna smiled at the lavender unicorn, who looked at her curiously.

“Why did you ask?”

“Oh, well…” Luna paused, gazing at the ground. “Maybe, if I get to know them better, I get to know you better. That was my thought process, at least.”

Twilight smiled for the thousandth time at the midnight blue alicorn. I really do love this pony. And, at this point, I don’t care if it’s unrequited.

“Oh, wow. We’re here already!” a sparkling blue body of water had caught Twilight’s gaze. “That was a shorter trip than usual.”

“Time flies in good company,” Luna quipped, floating the picnic blanket down to a suitable clearing next to the shore line.

Twilight just stuck her tongue out at the Princess. “When I find good company, then, I’ll let them know!”

Luna glowered at Twilight. “Go on, little unicorn, keep teasing me. See what happens.”

“Oh yeah? Wha- hee haha!!” Twilight snorted and clutched at her side, where a long piece of cattail grass had begun tickling her. The grass was wrapped in the soft glow of Luna’s magic, and was mercilessly tickling its victim.

“Hee haha! Stop! Hahaha! You win!” Twilight’s eyes started streaming tears again, she was laughing so hard.

“What’s that?” Luna called, turning an ear toward the unicorn. “I can’t quite hear you. Who’s the best company in Equestria?” The cattail continued its relentless assault on Twilight’s sides.

“You are, hee hee hahaha!!”

“Who?”

“P-p-princess Luna is! HahaHAHA!”

“I thought as much,” Luna smirked and let the cattail fall, released from her magic. Twilight just lay in the grass, breathing heavily and still giggling.

Spreading the blanket out, Luna situated herself on it in a comfortable position. It wasn’t long before Twilight had brushed herself off and joined her.

“It’s been so long since I’ve actually relaxed like this,” Luna murmured quietly, her eyes closing. Twilight muttered in agreement.

As Luna sank deep within herself, Twilight felt an unfamiliar blackness in the corner of her mind. She probed it mentally, and the blackness latched onto her probe and at away at her vision, dragging her down into unconsciousness.

~*~*~*~*~

“How strong are you, really?”

Twilight shrugged, her wings tucked against her side. There had been another change of scenery; now she was in an elaborate, yet deserted ballroom. I have no way of knowing that. I’m not that strong.

“Aren’t you, though?" The silky voice wrapped itself around Twilight. The familiarity of it made the purple alicorn relax.

I wouldn’t be anything without my friends. I know that much.

“Aahh, your friends. Tell me, Twilight, do you think it was a simple coincidence that all the bearers of the Elements of Harmony just HAPPENED to be in Ponyville?"

The nagging doubt that had planted itself in Twilight’s head tugged uncomfortably at her mind.

“It’s no coincidence, Twilight. You aren’t just the bearer of Magic, you ARE Magic. Your mere presence is powerful and influential enough to alter the destiny of ponies around you. You were powerful enough that Princess Celestia herself swooped you up as her personal protégé before a potential rival could find you. And now…”

And now?

“And now you’ve attracted the attention of one of the most powerful ponies in the world. Don’t buy in to the garbage that ponies say, ‘opposites attract.’ Powerful ponies attract powerful ponies. And your attraction with Luna goes far beyond mere friendship.”

Twilight bristled. That’s personal.

“I know, Twilight. I just don’t want to see you get hurt. You know this will end in betrayal.”

I refuse to believe that.

“Make of it what you will. I just don't want you to get hurt,” the voice wound itself around Twilight, encasing her in its silvery voice. “Have you decided on how to treat your power?”

Twilight sighed. Yes.

“And your decision is…?”

Twilight almost hated herself. Teach me as you will. I want to harness my power, to control and employ it.

If the voice had a physical manifestation, it would have grinned. Instead, it simply said, “First, there is one thing we must do. And really, it’s the only thing we have to do.”

And what is that?

“Remove something. Be warned, this may sting a little.”

Twilight felt a curious sensation inside of her head, as if a steady pressure was building. Then, something grabbed her mind and yanked, and Twilight let loose a bloodcurdling scream.

~*~*~*~*~

“Twilight! Twilight!”

Twilight was hit smack in the face with a load of water. Coughing (why was my mouth open?) violently, Twilight shook her head to try and get the water out of her eyes.

“Are you okay?” a very worried looking Luna was standing over her, the icebox dripping wet and floating next to her.

“I’m fine, other than soaking wet.”

Luna flinched at her words, and Twilight marveled at how cold her words had sounded. Softening her tone, the unicorn resumed, “Why? What happened?”

“We were meditating. It was pretty quiet, save for the occasional bird chirping in the trees. And you just suddenly screamed out like a dying pony. Your eyes were still closed, and I thought you were stuck in a trance. So…” she gestured at the icebox.

“Did you at least save the sandwiches?”

Luna smiled wryly and gestured to the side. The blanket and the sandwiches had been moved and were resting there, undisturbed, with the tea sitting next to them.

“Excellent,” Twilight said, waving away Luna’s worries with a flippant hoof. “Let’s eat. I’m starving.”

Luna cast one last worried look at Twilight (who was attempting to drain the water from her ears by pounding a hoof on one side of her head) and floated their lunch over from its resting place.

~*~*~*~*~

The shadow swirled, cackling gleefully. Slowly, it began to take a definite shape. Four legs extended downward out of it’s torso as a neck extended upward. An angled head began to take shape, with a horn sprouting out of the top. Wings began to extend from its torso, and a long tail extended out the back.

“Alicorns,” the shadow tutted, “are such useless and quixotic creatures. Always doing ‘what’s best for ponykind’ or ‘saving the world’. Such weakness…” the shadow shook its head in pity. “However, I do find their form quite convenient and pleasing. I’m sure Twilight won’t mind a few… renovations.”

Cackling again, the shadow returned to its shapelessness. “Now that I’ve shattered Twilight’s morals, it shouldn’t be long before I can claim complete control of her weakened mind. She is still ‘sick’, after all. Would that make me a virus?” the shadow swirled in place, pondering this silently. “Ah, it matters not. What matters now is the last step.”

Floating over to the imposing door, the shadow reached out a tentative strand of blackness towards the soft blue light, half expecting to be rejected by that accursed crescent moon. The strand hit the blue light with a soft whump…

…and pushed right through, coming into contact with the door. “Ha! It seems that love does not conquer all!” the shadow gloated, and furiously began retracing its spindly lines. “That’s one obstacle down, and five to go! And oh, I will relish the pain Twilight is going to feel. Perhaps I will throw whatever is left of her conscious in here. That would be a suitable change role change. Perhaps I’ll let her watch as I destroy her friends, her teacher AND her lover mare. Or perhaps I’ll just snuff out her mind altogether. It really doesn’t matter…”

And with those words, the door began to look less imposing, and the five locks began to lose their color.

Influence

After the sandwiches were eaten (Twilight watched with wry amusement as Luna hastily consumed four of them), the two ponies lay on the blanket, bathing in the warmth of the midday sun.

Luna groaned, holding her stomach. “I believe that I consumed too many sandwiches.”

Twilight chuckled. “You ate four sandwiches in the span of five minutes. I’ve never seen a pony eat that fast, and it’s only natural you’d get a tummy ache.”

Luna just groaned again in response. “Perhaps I should have eaten them slowly, in retrospect…”

Twilight sighed. “At least you don’t eat like Pinkie Pie. I’m surprised that pony doesn’t weigh a ton. She eats like a pig.”

Luna stared at her unicorn companion in shock. Twilight’s eyes went wide, and she clapped a hoof over her mouth. “Sweet Celestia,” she muttered. “What was that?”

Luna blinked slowly. “You insulted one of your closest friends.”

“I KNOW WHAT I SAID!” Twilight’s shouted at Luna, her eyes wide. “Luna,” she continued quietly, “I didn’t mean to shout…”

Luna had reeled back from the lavender unicorn, shock and hurt on her face. It tore Twilight up on the inside, to see the pony she had come to love so hurt, and some small part of her felt disgusted-

That a Princess could be so weak.

No! Twilight shook her head, locked in an invisible argument with herself. Disgusted that I hurt her!

Twilight moved to comfort the alicorn, somehow, but Luna stood up and stretched her wings, not meeting Twilight’s gaze.

“Twilight, I need to return to Canterlot for a while. I need to report in to ‘Tia about your recovery…” the alicorn said quietly. Twilight felt tears well up in her eyes.

“Luna…” Twilight began, but the Luna had already taken to the air, ascending quickly. “When will y-you come back?”

Silence.

Twilight’s back legs gave out, and she sat on the blanket with a thump. A myriad of feelings welled up inside her, and none of them were positive. She felt shocked, disgusted, and confused. But most of all, she felt…

… abandoned.

~*~*~*~*~

Twilight had walked back to Ponyville, eyes downcast and head low to the ground with the icebox and blanket floating behind her.

“Hey there, Twilight!” a pony called out from an open window. Twilight didn’t even register that her name was said. She barely even noticed that someone had said something.

Arriving at the library door, she glumly pushed it open, letting the blanket and icebox fall to the floor with a clatter.

“Twilight!” Spike said, surprised. He had been reading The Adventures of Daring Doo #5 – Curse of the Crystal Horn. “You’re home early!” Then, noticing that Twilight was alone, he asked, “Where’s Princess Luna?”

“Sh-she went back to Canterlot,” Twilight said dejectedly, “and left me here alone.”

“Whoa,” Spike gasped quietly, shocked at the quiet coldness that the unicorn spoke with. “Are you okay Twi’?”

Twilight sniffed, wiping her eyes to get rid of the tears that had built up. “I just want to be alone, okay? Just leave me alone for a bit…”

“Oh, alright,” Spike frowned as Twilight slowly walked up the stairs to her room, slamming the door behind her. “Weird… why is she so upset about this?”

Up in her room, Twilight slumped against the door, tears running freely down her face. “I-I can’t believe she would just l-leave like that,” she said around little sobs. “I can’t b-believe she would abandon m-me so quickly.”

She levitated the dozens of crumpled pieces of parchment, unfurling them and looking at them sadly; a sketch of the moon here, her constellation drawing there. Most of her drawings, though, were centered on Princess Luna herself. There was a drawing of the Princess’s mane and tail, a drawing of her cutie mark, and a sketch of her necklace. Each one of these drawings made Twilight’s heart beat with a hollow thump.

Luna’s eyes. Thump.

Luna’s frame. Thump.

Luna’s smile. Thump.

Twilight felt her heart go cold, as if encased in a block of ice. Her eyes narrowed at the picture she was floating in front of her, her horn glowing and whipping with dark purple magic streaked with black.

The picture erupted into flames and was consumed in a second, the ash falling to the floor.

Growling, Twilight burned each of the pictures, one by one, her anger at the Night Princess growing with each burned parchment. By the time she was done, her eyes had narrowed into slits, her teeth were bared, and her horn glowed almost entirely black.

Knock knock knock.

“What do you want?”

“U-um, Twilight? C-can I c-come in? If you don’t mind,” a meek voice came from the other side of the door. Twilight just sat and faced her window, back to the door.

“Fine.”

Twilight’s bedroom door swung open and admitted a scared-looking Fluttershy, who sat a safe distance away from Twilight and her sparking horn.

“T-twilight, I heard from S-“ Twilight began to growl menacingly, “-f-from somepony that y-you’re upset th-that Luna left, and I j-just wanted to tell you-“

“Tell me what?” Twilight said coldly. “Tell me that everything will be okay? Tell me that my ‘friends’ will be there for me?” Fluttershy winced at Twilight’s hard words, shrinking away from the lavender unicorn. Twilight mercilessly went on. “That’s rich, coming from a pony who surrounds herself by the weak. You’ll probably tell me to ‘forgive and forget’ what Luna,” Twilight basically spat the name, “did to me today. But you don’t know what it’s like. It would be as if all you animal ‘friends’ left you to rot! Left you alone in your misery! And we ALL know how you’d react, ever since the Gala!”

Fluttershy, who had been slowly tearing up as Twilight went on, fled from the room, her sobs echoing back up the stairs. “Weak,” Twilight muttered, slamming her door shut. She turned back toward the window.

Knock knock knock.

“Uh, Twi’? Sugarcube? Can I come in?”

Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Suit yourself.”

Applejack cautiously nosed her way into Twilight’s room, her nose wrinkling as she smelled the burned parchment.

“Twi’, I know ya feel hurt right now, but ya can’t jus’ yell at yer friends like that. We’re all here ta help ya-“

“Isn’t that precious,” Twilight sneered, wheeling around to glare at her orange friend. Applejack gasped as she saw Twilight’s eyes. They were slowly becoming lackluster, and incredibly dull. “The same pony who I practically had to chase down and force you to accept my help so you wouldn’t kill yourself from exhaustion, the same pony who is more stubborn than bees guarding their honey, is telling me that I should rely on others.”

Applejack opened her mouth, but no words came out. She was too shocked to say anything.

“What? Nothing to say, ‘Element of Honesty’? Because you know that I’m right? Newsflash, farmer girl. I’m always right. Now get out.”

And Applejack found herself thrust out the door magically, the door slamming on her hooves. Twilight could hear Applejack walk down the stairs. Elevated voices began arguing with each other, gaining in intensity and volume, right before her door exploded open, admitting a rainbow colored pegasus.

“What the heck is WRONG with you, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash yelled in her friends face. “You make Fluttershy cry and push away Applejack? This isn’t the Twilight I know! What’s gotten into you?”

“Don’t patronize me, Rainbow Dash!” Twilight screamed back. “Don’t talk to me like I’m in the wrong! I can’t believe how much of a fool I was!” she took one step forward, and her hoof hitting the ground caused a shockwave that pushed Rainbow Dash back. “What kind of mess would YOU dissolve into if Applejack suddenly decided you weren’t worth her time anymore?”

“Don’t you DARE-“

“Don’t what? Bring your relationship into this? If I wanted to, I could tell the entirety of Equestria!” Twilight shrieked, pinning Rainbow Dash against the wall. Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie had all gathered in the doorway, and could do nothing except watch in horror. “None of you have any idea what this feels like, do you! You’ve all been satisfied with settling into your own little worlds, going through the same rut every single day! You’re weak, Rainbow Dash! Loneliness crushes you, makes you useless!”

Twilight flung Rainbow Dash into the four terrified ponies, who caught the pegasus readily. Rainbow Dash had pure fear etched into her face.

“This has only made me stronger!” the unicorn yelled at her friends. Her entire body was cackling with dark energy, and her mane was whipping back and forth, as if her body was caught in an invisible maelstrom. “I haven’t dissolved into a blubbering heap at the prospect of being alone, Rainbow Dash!”

The rainbow pegasus shrunk away from Twilight, who went on, “And I haven’t gone absolutely crazy, either!” As she said this, she glared daggers at Pinkie Pie, who began crying softly.

“That’s debatable,” Applejack muttered, only to cringe as Twilight turned on her, next. “And I never fail, either, Applejack! Unlike you, who seems to take second in everything!”

Applejack just glared at Twilight, fighting desperately to hold back tears and failing miserably.

“And don’t even get me started on Rarity! Or Fluttershy! One’s afraid of her own shadow, and the other is afraid of dust!”

At this point, all five of Twilight’s friends were huddled into a corner, crying softly or just staring at Twilight, horrified.

“You’re weak! All of you! Now get out, before I-“ Twilight’s eyes rolled up into her head and she collapsed to the floor, motionless.

~*~*~*~*~

“Twilight…”

Twilight stirred, groaning in pain.

“Wake up, Twilight.”

That voice…

Twilight sat up, rubbing her eyes, only to panic an instant later. I can’t see! She was in a sea of total blackness. Panic clutched at her throat as she found it harder and harder to breathe.

“Magic, Twilight…”

Oh. Right. Her horn flared up like a beacon, illuminating the room around her. The walls were dark and bare, and four doorways led off in separate directions, each one as dark as the room had been. She was overcome by a deep foreboding. This place is not right, she determined. I need to get out of here.

She then felt a curious, but familiar presence pressing on her mind.

“Let me in. I can show you the way out,” the voice was so soft, smooth, and kind, that Twilight instantly trusted it and accepted it into her mind. It blossomed like a flower, filling her head with whispers and raindrops.

Urged on by the voice, Twilight projected an image of her own cutie mark, lighting it up as bright as her horn. At least, she had intended it for it to be her cutie mark. The purple star was still the same, but the surrounding stars had turned a jet black, along with the formerly white prongs extending from the main star.

Twilight saw no problems with it.

“Follow it, it will show you where you need to go.”

Obediently, Twilight began to canter off after her cutie mark, which had taken off down one of the hallways. She attempted to keep track of the twists and turns that they took, but gave up and just decided to keep up with the projection.

She walked for what felt like ages. Her hooves began to ache, and she felt like the walls were beginning to close in on her. Left, left, left, right, right, left, right, left… The energy she had was slowly ebbing away, and she was on the verge of collapsing.

“Twilight. Look.”

She did. Directly in front of her was a very large, imposing door. It was a stark contrast to her surroundings, as it was made of wood, instead of whatever material the labyrinth was constructed of. Five keyholes glowed dully, four of them arranged in a diamond around the fifth. They were of very peculiar shape; a thundercloud, a butterfly, a balloon, a diamond, and an apple. Each glowed with a soft light.

These look…familiar…

Twilight struggled to remember until her train of thought was interrupted by the silky voice. “Twilight, behind this door is the way out.”

Oh, good, Twilight thought. How do I get past it?

“There are five keys in the labyrinth that will unlock the door. You must find them to escape.”

That sounds easy enough, Twilight thought.

“I cannot guide you to find them,” the voice said apologetically, “for I do not know where they are. You will have to find them without my help. Once you find all five, I will guide you back to this door, and to your release.”

Sounds like a plan.

“Go now,” the voice purred, “and stay safe.”

And Twilight trotted back into the labyrinth.

~*~*~*~*~

Behind the door, the shadow could almost taste victory. “I’m so close,” it muttered. “I can feel her power. It’s just sitting there, begging to be used. All I need is to wait for the final stage to complete.”

The shadow swirled, anticipation evident in its voice. “Oh, Twilight. I hope you’re ready to cast off the shackles of your old life. You see, you’ll find a few angry ponies who will not be so…conducive to your efforts. Will you be able to get around that?” the shadow giggled to itself.

“And when I get out,” it hissed, “I’m going to take all five of those pathetic ponies with me, and we’re going to go pay a royal visit to the Canterlot Palace.”

“Celestia, you’ll pay for banishing me for a thousand years,” it muttered darkly. “And Luna? You’ll die just because I don’t like you. Not to mention the setbacks you’ve caused me.”

The shadow cackled in anticipation, savoring its revenge before it had even begun.

Insanity, Sadism, Dishonesty

WARNING: The following chapter is particularly dark. If you have no desire to delve into said darkness, PM me and I will tell you what happens without all the dark details.

~*~*~*~*~

Twilight’s steps echoed dully against the bare walls of the labyrinth as she made her way through, searching for a place that would like hold a key for her release.

C-clop, c-clop, c-clop, c-clop.

She found herself wishing, not for the first time, that she wasn’t so alone. The labyrinth had ceased to have the suffocating effect on her that it did the first time, but navigating these walls filled Twilight with an aching loneliness.

C-clop, c-clop, c-clop, c-clop.

She had already practiced some of her spells, lazily going through the same routine that she had done many times before. It seemed so easy to access her magic now, like the floodgates holding back her lake – no, more like an ocean - of magic, had suddenly been opened. She barely had to reach for it, and didn’t even have to exert herself in casting spells that otherwise might have left her fatigued.

Twilight laughed at the ease of it all, the sound in stark contrast to the setting around her. Her ears perked up as the sound of her laughter echoed down the hallway she was currently in. It seemed to fill the passageway as it traveled, splitting off in many directions.

Twilight shrugged and resumed walking. I just need to find five keys, right? Then I can get out of here.

C-clop, c-clop, c-clop, c-clop.

A soft echo began to rebound down Twilight’s hall. Her ears perked up as she strained to make out her own laughter.

“what are you What are you WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT?!?” the echo reached Twilight’s ears and she immediately bristled. That wasn’t my laughter. Who else is in this dungeon?

As she cast her eyes forward, she saw a dull pink light at the end of the hallway she was in. Picking up the pace to a canter, she moved toward the suspicious light. The need was pressed into her. She needed to get to that light before it vanished. It flickered in the distance.

No! Twilight broke into a gallop, her hooves clacking noisily through the hallway. She was so close to reaching the light. Twenty steps. Ten steps. Five steps.

The light went out.

Shoot! Twilight thought, pounding a hoof against the floor in frustration. She was standing right where the light had just been. Where did it go? When she looked around, her mouth fell open in wonder.

She was standing in front of a door that looked like it belonged on a shop. A crooked “OPEN” sign hung on its front, and the same dull pink light spilled out of the crack from underneath the door.

Twilight tilted her head curiously, and then pushed open the door. She found herself standing in a bakery that looked in serious need of repair. Cupboards were hanging from their hinges, twisting with a rusty creaking noise at every little disturbance. There were cracked and missing tiles in the floor, and the back room (Twilight assumed it was the kitchen) was boarded off with a skull and crossbones sign nailed to the front.

And, standing in contrast to its surroundings, there was a jeweled case on the wall, containing the most pristine and ornate jewel carving of balloon that Twilight had ever seen. A smile came over her face. If they’re all this easy, I can count myself lucky.

“Who are you, and what are you doing smiling in MY SHOP?” a voice shrieked from a stairwell that Twilight didn’t see before. Standing in the entryway of the stairwell was a dull pink pony with similarly dull pink, mangled mane. Her eyes were narrowed into suspicious slits, and her face was set in a frown. The closer Twilight looked the less friendly the new pony seemed. Her cutie mark was three deflated balloons, and her eyes were a cold grey.

“I’m just here for that,” Twilight said, gesturing at the balloon jewel.

“And what makes you think you’re entitled to that, huh? What are you gonna use it for, unlock that big door and let all the light into this world?” The dull pink pony was in Twilight’s face in a flash, pushing an accusing hoof into Twilight’s chest. “I can’t let you do that. You’ll destroy all that I’ve worked for!”

“You don’t want to let the light into this world?” Twilight frowned, confused. “That doesn’t make any sense. It’s so dark here.”

“THAT’S THE POINT!” the dull pink pony screamed, pushing Twilight onto her back. “The dark keeps this entire place quiet! There’s no laughing to disturb me! I. HATE. LAUGHTER! Do you know why? Oh, sure, I used to be a HUGE party pony. I would laugh all the time! And you know what I got for it? NOTHING! Everyone abandoned me! They left and said, ‘I don’t want to have anything to do with that crazy pony!’ So you know what I did? I shut them up! FOR GOOD! And now the darkness holds them all, and you’re next because you LAUGHED!” A knife had materialized in the pink pony’s mouth, and she looked at Twilight with a spark of insanity in her eyes.

Twilight, however, had heard just about enough. She stood up, brushing herself off, turned, and glared at the pink pony. “I don’t know who you are,” she hissed, “but if you acted like this all the time, I wouldn’t want to be your friend either.” And with that, her horn erupted into a glow, separating the pony and the knife and suspending them in the air.

“Let me down! LET ME DOWN SO I CAN FINISH!”

“Not a chance,” Twilight muttered. “I’m doing you a favor, you miserable creature.” Twilight slowly rotated the knife, pointing the sharp end at the pink pony’s chest. The trapped pony’s eyes widened and she began to thrash violently.

“No! NO! THIS ISN’T HOW IT’S SUPPOSED TO WOR-!”

Shhnk. Disgustedly, Twilight floated down the jeweled case, willing away the glass covering as she did so. Appraising the jewel carefully, she muttered, “Now, how am I going to carry you?” She cast her eyes around, and eventually her gaze settled upon a discarded saddle bag. “That’ll work nicely,” she nodded, floating the saddle bag over. After it was secured on her back, she slipped the balloon jewel inside it, fastened the button on the bag shut, and left the shop, leaving the dull pink pony pinned against the wall, knife hilt buried deep in her chest.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

~*~*~*~*~

Somewhere inside Twilight’s head, a voice was screaming at her. It was a very small voice, but it was irritating nonetheless. It kept shouting something about how inherently wrong killing a pony is, and how Twilight shouldn’t have done that.

Twilight just shrugged. No matter how much she thought about it, she could find no fault in her actions. They all seemed justified.

Whistling a catchy tune, Twilight resumed her random wandering of the labyrinth, occasionally marking the walls with a dash of spell fire. This way, she though smugly, I can tell when I’ve doubled back. Pretty soon, entire corridors of the labyrinth were illuminated, bright purple fires burning at almost every corner.

This place is really a lot bigger than I expected, Twilight thought. There were still pathways that she hadn’t gone down that were still pitch black. A momentary bout of fear gripped at her mind. What if I die down here? I haven’t seen any food or water. Despite the fact that she hadn’t felt hungry or thirsty at all, her fears still seemed very real.

Then she thought of the jewel balloon in her bag and relaxed. I’ll be out of here in no time, she thought confidently, and began down another hallway. She had only made it a few steps forward before a bucket full of water fell out of the sky, landing solidly on Twilight’s head.

“Ouch! Hey!” Twilight whipped around, trying to find the offending pony. All she could hear, aside from the water dripping from her mane, was a cruel laugh echoing in the distance.

Warily, Twilight plodded forward, only to be met with a falling bag of flour. It exploded on contact with Twilight, covering her in the white powder. Twilight groaned as it mixed with the water still in her coat, becoming a thick paste.

“That isn’t funny!” she yelled at the retreating laughter, briskly cleaning herself up with a brief spell. Then she placed wards around herself, a shield of sorts that would block any oncoming object that didn’t have Twilight’s permission to touch her.

As it turns out, this was a brilliant idea. As she continued down the hall, she was bombarded with fireworks, buckets of chalk dust, buckets of tar, and even a swarm of snakes. Twilight was almost in hysterics over the last one.

“Stop it!” she yelled into the darkness, and kept pushing forward. Syrup flowed through the hallway, only parting around Twilight’s shield. Bats flew by, shrieking loudly at the lavender unicorn, and floating eyes began to blink and follow Twilight as she continued her walk through the hallway.

She was about ready to break down and cover her eyes with her hooves when she came to a large enclosure, with a dome like ceiling. Unnatural light filtered down through an extremely small window in the top of the dome, illuminating a non-working fountain in the center of the room. The fountain itself was a carving of pony, crawling out of a fracture in the earth, with one hoof raised towards the sky. And there, nestled in the hoof, was a butterfly jewel, akin in beauty to the balloon that was secured in Twilight’s bag.

Excellent, Twilight sighed and began walking toward the jewel, only to have a net dropped on her from above. It hit her shield with a thud and stayed there, the weights on the end preventing her from moving closer to her objective.

“Poor, poor Twilight,” a condescending voice cooed from the shadows. A dull yellow pegasus pony with extraordinarily light pink mane and three spiders for a cutie mark stepped casually into the light. “Wandering helplessly through a big, scary dungeon, trying desperately to find a way out.” The pegasus giggled gleefully. “And so much fun to play with.

Warily, Twilight kept her shield up, though the net was a constant drain on her energy. “What do you want with me?”

“Oh, I don’t really know,” the pegasus shrugged. “Maybe I’ll see how many cuts you can take before passing out, then maybe I’ll time you bleeding to death. Does that sound good?”

Twilight groaned. The pegasus laughed. “Maybe I’ll cut off your horn and see if you can do magic after that! That’s an idea…” the yellow pony put a hoof up to her face, pondering the thought.

Twilight seized the opportunity, using telekinetic blades of energy to cut through the rope. These weird ponies shouldn’t keep underestimating me. As the net fell away to the floor, Twilight let her shield fall. It was becoming too much of a drain on her strength, and she needed to stay alert.

“Oh, look, my little visitor has freed herself,” the pegasus pony spat on the ground. “It won’t do you any good. You’re to WEAK and PATHETIC to try and take MY jewel.” She casually walked a few steps forward and set her hoof on a differently colored tile. “I hope you can dodge sharp things, otherwise this is going to be a very grisly end for you!”

Twilight’s eyes widened as she felt an object whisk through her mane, and felt a few hairs fall to the floor. Another object grazed her right flank, leaving a long, thin cut that made her hiss with pain. Hastily, she through up a shield, glowing brightly in the darkness of the room.

“It won’t do you any good~” the pegasus said with a sing-song voice, as another knife passed through Twilight’s shield as if it wasn’t even there, leaving another long, thin cut across her back.

“ENOUGH!” Twilight screamed as her magic blossoming to fill the room. Every single knife stopped mid-flight, suspended in the air. Knives that had fallen to the floor were also levitated up, leaving Twilight in control of a dozen of the lethal instruments.

A look of fear flashed across the pegasus pony’s face as she wheeled backwards. Twilight advanced on her slowly, hatred etched on her face.

“You are a cruel, sadistic being,” Twilight rumbled, her voice laden with latent power, “And you don’t even deserve to exist.”

The pegasus pony shrieked as she was picked up unceremoniously by a single hoof. “Put me down!”

“You want to be let down?” Twilight asked. “You should be careful what you wish for.”

The air was filled with dozens of hisses as the knives quickly accelerated towards the unfortunate pegasus, and dozens of dull snncks cut off the yellow pony’s scream before it even began.

Twilight wrinkled her nose in disgust, quashing the little voice inside of her head that yelled at her again. Flinging aside the body of the pony, she slowly walked up to the fountain statue, floating the butterfly down and admiring its sheen. Gently, she floated it into her bag, settling it with a light chink against the other jewel. Quickly, she departed out of the door opposite the one she entered, and refused to look back.

~*~*~*~*~

I’m on a roll now.

The weight of the two jewels was a comfort of sorts to Twilight. She smiled, satisfied with her progress thus far. The labyrinth had been trying its best to stop her, and she had overcome each and every challenge with a cool head. Behind her, purple fires marked the places she had already been, and she pushed on readily.

To top it all off, the comforting voice had paid a visit to Twilight, praising and encouraging her. “You’re doing well. Keep it up, and stay safe.” Twilight had promised that she would.

Smile still etched on her face, she turned a dark corner and came face to face (figuratively speaking) with a set of two doors. On one door, a sign was hung crookedly that had, reading “DANGER” in hastily scrawled letters. On the other, a beautiful sign was displayed, reading “This Way.”

Twilight shrugged, putting a dab of spell fire on one of the walls. This seems relatively straightforward. She calmly trotted up to the second door, opened it, and walked through.

The door slammed shut behind her. Wait a minute, Twilight thought, examining the room. Two more doors were there, one with a sign saying “DANGER” and another with a sign saying “This Way.” A glowing purple flame was burning on one of the walls.

It was the exact same room.

Curiously, Twilight opened the same door she had previously, but didn’t walk through. Sure enough, she could see her own rump standing in the doorway of the next room. Gingerly, and without dwelling too much on how impossible that situation was, Twilight closed the door.

I can’t keep walking through that door, she considered. I’ll just go in some weird circle. And I can’t go back now, since I’m sure this is another twisted test. That only leaves me one option. Slowly, cautiously, she pushed the door labeled “DANGER” open, and braced for whatever waited for her.

The first sound that hit her was the persistent rattling. The room was completely dark, but the sound was penetrating. Twilight slowly stepped into the room, and set her horn aglow.

Her scream echoed off the walls. She was standing in midair, suspended above a deep pit that ended with hundreds of snakes. Twilight desperately turned around to go back, but the door had vanished, leaving her suspended above the pit.

Calm down. Calm down, she told herself, willing her legs to stop shaking. Assess the situation. She looked around. Her hooves, she felt, were on something solid, even if she thought she was floating in midair. There was a door that was a mere stones throw away from Twilight’s position.

Shaking violently, she took one step forward, setting her hoof down with a clack.

Okay, solid ground… come on, Twilight. One hoof in front of the other.

Cautiously, slowly, with her body screaming at her not to move, she took one step forward. Then another. Then one more. Finally, she threw herself at the door, rolling into a heap in another room.

Momentarily dazed, Twilight shook her head quickly to cast of the stars floating in her vision. The door had disappeared, and she was smack dab in what looked like the middle of a trophy room. It was decked in red velvet, and there were three trophy cases.

One trophy case contained a red jewel, fashioned in the shape of an apple. Another trophy case held a similarly fashioned jewel, but it was yellow instead. And the third trophy case held a green apple.

Fantastic.

Twilight’s ears pricked as it registered hoofsteps. A dull orange earth pony appeared, with a rotten yellow colored mane and tail. Her cutie mark displayed three diseased apples.

“Who are you?” Twilight said suspiciously. “Are you here to try and stop me, too?”

“Absolutely not,” the earth pony replied, not quite meeting Twilight’s accusing stare. “Ah’m jest, eh, here ta help.”

“Right,” Twilight said slowly, turning her attention back to the trophy case. “So, which one of these is the key I need?”

“Eh. Definitely the yellow one!” the orange pony said quickly, pointing at the green apple.

Twilight leaned her head to the side. “What?”

“No, scratch that. Ya want the red one!” the orange pony grinned and pointed at the yellow apple. “No, wait, take the green one!” And pointed, unsurprisingly, at the red apple.

“Seriously, which do I need?”

The orange pony just shrugged. “Beats me. Maybe you should look in there. I bet it has some answers.”

Twilight turned to see a new door in the side of the wall. Glaring suspiciously at the orange pony, she turned and opened the door…

… and immediately felt a push from behind. Twilight yelped in surprise as the orange pony furiously tried to get her to go through the door. Pushing back with all of her might, she spared a glance into the room that her ‘guide’ was so desperately trying to push her into.

Her eyes went wide as she saw that the room was a giant pit, with deadly looking spikes lining the walls of the pit. There was no ledge extending from the doorway. It just dropped off, giving way to the lethal setup.

Twilight pushed back against the orange pony with a renewed vigor. Self-levitation was tricky business at the best of times, and falling to a potential death was not the best condition to attempt a spell like that.

I am not dying here.

The realization made Twilight radiate with a black energy. It snaked over her body, thin fingers of black lightning winding their way around her. One of them reached out and flung the orange pony against the wall, and she collided with“oof!”

Twilight just sat at the precipice of the pit, a cold fury coming over here. Wheeling furiously, her horn spitting out black tendrils of power, she addressed the pony lying on the ground.

“There is nothing worse than a liar,” she said with a deceptive calmness. “And a murderous liar is even worse.”

Ignoring the earth pony’s protest, Twilight wrapped her magic around one of her orange hooves, dragging her roughly towards the open door.

“No! Wait! Ah promise Ah’ll help ya!”

“I don’t need your help,” Twilight hissed coldly. “Enjoy your trip.”

Slowly, Twilight levitated the thrashing earth pony to the middle of the pit, then closed the door and released the magic.

Turning back towards the trophy cases, Twilight was struck with sudden inspiration. She took out her first two jewels, and touched them with a small piece of magic. The glowed, radiating her magic back to her. Breaking open the glass cases, she tried the same trick on all three apples. The yellow apple and the green apple exploded, and Twilight had to shield herself from the deadly slivers of glass that rushed toward her. The red apple, however, glowed exactly like the other two. Satisfied, she took the apple and her other two jewels and secured them safely within her bag.

Three down, two to go.

Mercy?

Ponyville had recently found two things to talk about, as Cheerilee soon discovered. She was sitting with her friend Roseluck, enjoying her mid afternoon tea (a delicious ginger peach blend she had obtained from Twilight) when she heard the news.

“So a lot of ponies have been talking about the disturbances earlier today,” Roseluck said, sipping some water.

“Hmm? What disturbances?” Cheerilee peeked at her friend over the top of her glass.

“You haven’t heard?” Roseluck said excitedly. “There was a HUGE commotion at the library earlier! Apparently, there was a lot of shouting and a rather sinister light show!”

“Twilight won’t be happy about that,” Cheerilee mused. “She likes to keep the library somewhat quiet.”

“Ah,” Roseluck waggled her eyebrows. “But rumor has it that Twilight herself was the one causing the commotion.”

“Who, Twilight?” Cheerilee snorted, half-amused. “Twilight wouldn’t keep that contained in her library. She’d bring it out to the streets, and THEN she’d explode. She wouldn’t want to hurt the books.”

Both ponies burst out into laughter, but Roseluck still had more to say. “Well, have you heard the latest rumor about Miss Twilight?”

“Oh, yeah, that she’s ‘romantically linked’ with some noble or another.”

“Not just any noble,” Roseluck paused for dramatic effect, beckoning for Cheerilee to lean closer. “I heard she was seeing Princess Luna.” She nodded seriously.

Cheerilee gasped in fake surprise. “You don’t say!”

Roseluck struggled to keep her face straight, corners of her mouth twitching. She couldn’t hold it, though, and her composure dissolved into a fit of giggles. Cheerilee rolled her eyes, sipping at her tea again. “You really should stop goss-“

She stopped mid sentence, goggling at a particular pony that was passing by. Roseluck immediately swept into a low bow, and Cheerilee did the same, muttering softly, “Hail.”

Luna didn’t even notice them as she walked by. Her eyes were focused straight ahead as she walked slowly, a dozen roses in her mouth. She had managed to replicate Twilight’s spell, but instead of a midnight blue, the roses were a soft lavender color.

She ignored the residents of Ponyville as she walked down the street, even though she knew that she was an odd sight to behold. She had doffed her necklace, and her mane and tail were a soft blue. She had no royal escort, no herald, and no royal procession.

Let them talk about this. I do not mind, she thought to herself. She quickened her pace as her destination came into view: Twilight’s library.

Luna’s heart pounded in her chest as she approached the door to the library. Last time I was here, we were walking home from that party… It seems like so long ago now. Luna tried to iron out her apology. Somehow, she wanted to convey how sorry she was for leaving like that, how much of a fool she was, and how cowardly she felt. Head sunk low to the ground, she raised a hoof and knocked quietly.

“Applejack, get the door, will you?”

Applejack?

Luna raised her head in confusion as it swung open, revealing Twilight’s orange friend.

“P-princess Luna!” Applejack wore a look of surprise on her face. Her face which, on Luna’s closer inspection, sported a few cuts and bruises. “Er, what are ya doin’ here?”

“I cam to apologize to Twilight,” Luna said softly.

A look of worry crossed Applejack’s face. “Well, I guess ya better come on in…”

Princess Luna had gotten no more than a foot inside the door when a scream pierced the air, “THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!”

Flinching at the sound, Luna wheeled around to see Rarity and Fluttershy holding down a very angry looking Rainbow Dash. The rainbow pegasus’s left wing was wrapped against her body, and her face sported bruises much like those of Applejack’s.

“Wh-what happened?” Luna asked, a sense of dread creeping over her.

“I’ll tell you what happened!” Rainbow Dash shrieked. “You went and pulled your little disappearing act and crushed one of my best friends, who decided to come home and take it out on everypony, and now she won’t wake up!” By the time Rainbow Dash was finished, tears were freely running down her face. Regardless, she glared right at Luna and repeated, “AND IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT!”

“That’s enough outta ya, RD,” Applejack muttered, walking over and nuzzling her marefriend. “Come on; let’s cool ya off for a bit.”

As Applejack led the distraught pegasus out of the main room in the library, Rarity turned to Luna. “I do apologize for our friend, Princess,” Rarity said sincerely. “Everypony’s just been a little on edge since Twilight came home. Out of all of us, Rainbow Dash took it the hardest.”

Luna nodded, a sad expression creeping over her face. “What happened?”

“Actually, Princess,” Applejack said, then paused. “Fluttershy, can ya go take care of RD? She agi-… irri-… gosh darn it, she messed up her wing again.”

Fluttershy nodded and vanished into the next room. “Any how,” Applejack resumed. “I’d like ta hear what happened between ya’ll durin’ yer date yesterday.”

“Applejack, she is a pri-“ Rarity began, but Luna held up a hoof, silencing the white unicorn.

“No, she has a right to know,” Luna muttered. Applejack nodded. “We had just gotten home from the party, you see…”

And Princess Luna recalled all the events that happened between then and lunch at the lake, skillfully ‘forgetting’ to mention some of the more personal things.

“… and we were about a half an hour into meditating when she suddenly screamed. I’ve never heard a pony scream like that before, and I’ve lived long enough to hear more than my fair share. It was like something was being ripped right out of her.” Princess Luna shuddered at the memory.

“So I doused her with some water, and she woke up, seemingly just fine. We sat down and ate our sandwiches and started talking. But the things she said were… off. Cruel, even.”

Applejack flicked her ears. “Did she, uh, sound any different? Like, really, really cold?”

Luna nodded. “And she ended up yelling at me. It was like she had turned all of her fury against me.” Tears welled up in her eyes. “So, like the coward I am, I invented some weak excuse and flew off, refusing to believe that Twilight, patient, adoring, kind Twilight, could say things like that.”

Rarity moved to comfort the Princess, but Applejack got there first. Setting a hoof on Luna’s shoulder, Applejack said, with all the kindness in the world, “T’ain’t yer fault, Princess. Don’t beat yerself up about it. We’ll get this all sorted out, ya just wait.”

Luna sniffed, wiped the tears from her eyes, and nodded. “So, what happened to you all?”

“Shucks, me and RD got the worst of it,” Applejack chuckled humorlessly, and recounted the events of the previous afternoon. Luna’s eyes widened in horror as she listened to Applejack’s rendition.

“Her magic was tinged with black?”

“Uh-huh. And her eyes had lost all their glow, see. It was like…” Applejack struggled to find an appropriate metaphor. “It was like she was awake, right, but she wasn’t.”

Rarity scoffed. “What she means, Princess, is Twilight didn’t seem herself. Almost as if she was in a dream-like state.”

“That’s what Ah said…”

“And after that, she passed out,” Rarity finished. “She hasn’t moved since yesterday, save the occasional spark of magic from her horn.”

Luna just stared at Twilight’s two friends. If what they say is true…

“Yeah, and look at what we found, Princess,” Applejack held up a piece of parchment for Luna to see. It looked like it had been crumpled and smoothed back out. “I reckon Twilight burned most o’ these in her little spat,” Applejack mused. “But there was one left.”

It was Twilight’s rendition of Luna’s sky. The alicorn gasped a little as she took in the precision that went into drawing it, and the beautiful recreation of the cutie marks of her five friends.

“Applejack…” Princess Luna began.

“Yeah?”

“Can I hang onto this?” she asked, wrapping the parchment in the soft glow of her magic.

“Er, sure, Ah guess,” Applejack replied with a measure of confusion.

“Thank you. Where is Twilight now?”

“She’s upstairs in her room. Pinkie Pie and Spike are with her.” Applejack sighed. “Ah was kinda afraid that Pinkie’d would fall back inta some old habits. But that party pony prob’ly took it the best outta all o’ us.”

Princess Luna nodded, tucking the scroll away.

~*~*~*~*~

“I knew it wasn’t Twilight,” Pinkie Pie sniffed, sitting at her bed. Princess Luna hadn’t made a sound, but Pinkie knew she was there anyway. “It looked like Twilight, but she didn’t sound right. She didn’t feel right. And Twilight wouldn’t say those horrible things, not to her friends.” The pink pony turned to look at Luna, tears in her eyes. “Would she?

“Not our Twilight,” the Princess murmured in response. Spike was sitting on a pillow next to Twilight’s head, gingerly stroking her mane. He stopped for a minute, giving a sad smile and salute to Luna, before resuming.

Twilight herself was a mess. Black sparks of energy ran through her mane and her coat, and she would occasionally mutter something incoherent as she twitched in her sleep.

“Fluttershy said she was in some sort of a ‘coma’,” Spike said quietly, as if to not wake Twilight up. “What’s a ‘coma’, Princess Luna?”

“It’s when a pony falls asleep, but has trouble waking up,” Luna whispered, walking over to the bed.

“Will she ever wake up?”

Luna closed her eyes. “I don’t know.”

Pinkie Pie had started crying softly, her sniffs occasionally breaking the silence that pervaded the air. Luna laid her head on the blankets next to one of Twilight’s hooves.

“Twilight, come back to us soon.”

~*~*~*~*~

All things considered, Twilight was in a jovial mood. She had taken to just ignoring the little voice screaming at her that she should feel guilty (killing ponies is wrong!), and had quashed it in a small corner of her mind. She continued along her path, illuminated brightly by spell fire.

Somewhere along the line, she had relaxed, and let most of her worries float away. She had powerful magic at her disposal, wasn’t growing hungry or thirsty, and already had three out of the five keys that she needed.

Twilight was humming happily when she bumped into something large and hard.

“Ouch!”

Twilight had run horn-first into a giant rock, sitting in the middle of the hallway. What the hay? It didn’t block enough of the hallway to be a serious obstacle, so Twilight skirted around it, only to be tripped by other, smaller rocks.

What in Equestria is going on?

A huge, gaping hole had been dug out of the side of the labyrinth. It was pitch black inside the hole, and Twilight had no way of determining how deep it was. The spell fire that she had dabbed on the wall only penetrated the darkness a few feet, and there was no visible end in sight. Curiosity getting the better of her, she floated up a small rock and chucked it into the hole.

Clack. Clack. Clack clack. Clack clack clack. Clack clack…

The rock kept bouncing, sending back sounds until it got so deep that Twilight couldn’t hear them anymore.

Well, I can’t risk missing something. Taking a gulp, Twilight took a tentative step forward into the hole, putting a dab of spell fire on the wall.

As she descended, Twilight determined that she was inside of a mine shaft. The tunnel looked hoof-dug, and there were large gaps in the wall at irregular intervals. One of the gaps looked suspiciously able to fit a large, hallway-blocking rock into it. At least I know where that rock came from.

Twilight kept walking, putting occasional dabs of spell fire along the walls. It gave the entire shaft a sickly purple hue, and gave Twilight the shivers. Something is wrong about this place. The thought had no sooner crossed Twilight’s mind when she chuckled. Of course, that’s what I originally thought about the maze.

When she finally made it to the bottom, Twilight had expected something… more. This is it? There was nothing spectacular about the bottom of the shaft, other than it was slightly wider and there was no way to continue down. There were only two objects in the cave. One was a very peculiar looking rock with purple moss growing on it, another was a stone chest.

Twilight shrugged, floating the lid of the stone box off. Peeking inside, her face lit up. There, resting within the confines of the stone chest was a marvelous diamond that shone with a blinding radiance.

“What. Are. You. Doing?”

Twilight jumped, skin crawling. The voice that now echoed off the walls of the cave was dusty, as if it hadn’t been used in a while, and incredibly scratchy.

“That is MINE! I did NOT say that YOU could TOUCH IT!”

Twilight looked around desperately, trying to find the source of the voice. What she had originally thought was a rock was now moving with an incredible slowness.

It’s a pony!

The pony had twisted its head around to gaze directly at Twilight. Its body was hunched over, and Twilight now realized that it wasn’t grey, but white. What looked like years of dirt and grime had marred the once beautiful coat, and what Twilight had originally thought was moss was actually the pony’s mane. The pony’s horn had been chipped and cracked, as if it had been used for digging and excavating.

Most sickeningly of all, though, were the pony’s eyes. They had become milky, and unfocused, and its gaze was not actually centered on Twilight, but a little to the left and up.

The pony had gone blind.

“You…” the pony sniffed the air, creeping towards Twilight with her belly on the ground. “You have MORE gems! Give them to me. GIVE THEM TO ME!!!”

And with that shriek, the pony lunged at Twilight with blinding speed, aiming straight for her bag. Twilight ducked out of the way, and the white unicorn collided against the wall with a sickening crunch. Twilight hurriedly floated the diamond into her bag and began galloping back towards the entrance to the mine shaft.

“NOOOO!!! GIVE ME MY GEM BACK!!!!” Twilight’s skin crawled as she looked over her shoulder and saw the unicorn slithering against the ground, using her legs to propel her towards Twilight. She was gaining with horrifying speed.

“GIVE THEM TO ME!!!!!”

An idea occurred to Twilight. Her horn began to glow as she destabilized the cavern around her. The earth began to shake, and sizable chunks of the ceiling began to fall. Twilight had to be quick on her feet to avoid being crushed.

“COME BACK HERE!!!”

Almost there. Almost there… jump!

And Twilight did, clearing the cave just as it filled with debris from the collapsing mine shaft. Her hind hooves barely avoided being crushed under tons of rock as she landed, panting on the floor of the labyrinth.

“Give…my…gems…” a weak voice sounded from behind her. She turned, terrified, and saw the white unicorn’s front half vainly scrabbling against the ground, trying to propel herself towards Twilight.

The lavender unicorn stood up, brushed herself off, and wrapped the large rock she had run into earlier in her magic. Slowly, she levitated it right above the twisting abomination.

“Give me give me give me GIVE M-“

Twilight let the rock fall. Crunch.

“And greed is served its just desserts.”

~*~*~*~*~

Twilight gleefully listened to the clink as the four keys she had assembled bounced around in her bag. She was so close to freedom, she felt absolutely confident that nothing could stand in her way.

The only one I have left is the thundercloud, she thought contentedly. And that has to be around here somewhere.

She was running out of hallways. At almost every corner she took, purple spell fire winked at her from the halls. Occasionally, she would come to a dark hallway, and her heart rate would pick up. But it was always just a false alarm, as the hallway led back to another lighted area of the labyrinth.

There has to be ONE area I haven’-

Whoosh!

A dull blur of a myriad of colors whizzed past Twilight, ruffling her mane and leaving her disoriented. Shaking off the stars swirling around her head, the lavender unicorn galloped after the blur. Turning a corner, she caught a wink of something shiny before the blur disappeared out of sight.

The last key! There was no doubt in Twilight’s mind. She had seen the thundercloud clenched firmly in the teeth of a pegasus pony, who was dashing away at the speed of rainbow.

Twilight desperately tried to run after the pegasus. It had vanished, and Twilight groaned with disappointment.

Wham!

Something incredibly solid rammed into her, blackening Twilight’s vision for a split second. Recovering, Twilight saw the rainbow blur disappear again down a different hallway.

Wham!

Twilight was bowled over as she was hit again. Moaning in pain, her breathing came labored. The blur was moving too fast for Twilight to try and counter, and she couldn’t hope to try and dodge the next blow.

She doubted she would even last another blow.

Unless…

Twilight quickly cast a spell that let her see through all of the dabs of fire she had put on the walls of the labyrinth. Sure enough, a dull blue pegasus pony with a mane the color of rainbows was speeding through the hallways, circling around for another blow.

I will not let that happen.

Twilight’s horn began to glow, softly at first, and then increasing in luminosity until her horn burned like the sun. All across the labyrinth, her spell fires began to flicker. Then, they began to skitter across the wall, like giant purple spiders. Through her vision spell, Twilight could see the rainbow pegasus’s eyes grow wide as the fire matched her speed.

Now!

The fires nearest to the pegasus flew off the walls, forming into bars mid-flight. They linked with each other, trapping the pegasus in a glowing cage of purple fire. As the rest of the spell fires joined the cage, the bars began to thicken, so the pegasus had to clamp her wings tightly to her sides to avoid being burned.

Twilight calmly trotted over. Despite the sudden absence of light, she found that she had no problems navigating through the now familiar hallways. Humming happily, she came across the cage.

Wrapping the charcoal-colored thundercloud jewel in her magic, Twilight wrenched it out of the mouth of the pegasus. She opened her bag and added the key to the other four, a smile spreading across her face.

Twilight had also been expecting a slew of profanities, insults, and other mindless words to come spewing out of the pegasus’s mouth. Instead, all the light blue pony said was, “Okay, you got what you want. Let me go!”

Twilight blinked. While it was true she had all she needed, she had already been considering how best to dispose of the pegasus.

“Please. Show some mercy.”

Twilight’s nostrils flared as she briskly turned on her hooves and walked the other way. Pausing, she muttered, “Mercy is for the weak.”

Slowly, the cage began to fold in on itself, and Twilight walked away, ignoring the screams of the trapped pony burning alive.

~*~*~*~*~

I did it!

“Well done, Twilight. Bring the keys back to the door, and we’ll be set.”

Twilight trotted happily through the maze, which had straightened itself out and led straight to the large wooden door. The keys chinked at her side, and her horn glowed with happiness.

Arriving at the door, she smiled and thought, alright, what now?

The answer came in a projection that appeared in front of Twilight. It was a midnight blue pony that stood regally in front of her. The pony’s wings extended from its back, and a glowing carpet of stars flowed in her mane and tail. Its horn was long and sharp, and her necklace glowed with the light of the moon.

Twilight gazed at the beautiful pony. Somewhere, something in her mind screamed at her…

Who is this? Twilight wondered.

The pony vanished as soon as it appeared.

~*~*~*~*~

The shadow breathed a sigh of relief. “That was close,” it muttered. Keeping reign on Twilight memories was taxing work, and Twilight’s favorite mental image of Princess Luna had slipped through its clutches, materializing in front of her.

“Thankfully, that pony is so far gone…”

~*~*~*~*~

“Twilight,” the voice wrapped the lavender unicorn in a silky feeling. “All you have to do is insert the keys into the keyholes, and the door will be unlocked.”

Twilight floated out all of the keys. Carefully, she levitated the balloon up to its proper keyhole. Click. Next went the butterfly. Click. Then the apple. Click. The diamond. Click. The thundercloud. Click.

CLICK.

The keys cracked instantly down the middle, and the locks shattered against the door. One by one, the keys fell to the ground, dissolving into dust.

Slowly, the door creaked open.

“Go inside, Twilight.”

Obediently, Twilight padded inside. The room inside was dark, darker than any other part of the labyrinth. No matter how bright Twilight’s horn glowed, she couldn’t manage to reflect any of the light off of the walls.

Hello?

“You did wonderfully, Twilight,” the voice purred. As Twilight watched, the darkness receded from the wall, culminating into a corner. It began to take on an equine shape. Twilight gazed, transfixed, as four legs, a neck, a horn, and a tail formed from the inky blackness.

She was looking at an exact copy of herself.

“Here are some things you… forgot. I’ve been holding onto them for a while.”

Memories slammed back into Twilight. All her friends back in Ponyville. Spike. Her library. Princess Celestia. Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy. Applejack. Rarity. Rainbow Dash.

Princess Luna.

“No,” Twilight whispered aloud, recognition lighting her features. Her eyes began to tear up as she thought of how she made her way through the labyrinth.

“YES!” the shadow yelled gleefully, flinging itself at Twilight. She didn’t even have time to run. The shadow collided with Twilight, and all she knew was blackness.

~*~*~*~*~

“Hey…”

Spike’s voice stirred Luna. She had fallen asleep with her head on Twilight’s bed. Blearily, she rubbed her eyes and looked around. The moonlight streaming through the window revealed that Twilight’s five friends had all dragged in blankets and pillows, and were now all stirring at the sound of Spike’s voice as well.

“It’s Twilight. I think she’s awake!”

Twilight’s body had stopped twitching. Slowly, one of her eyes cracked open.

Luna gasped. She had been expecting to see the unicorn’s gentle purple eyes. Instead, she found herself gazing into eyes that were as black as the night sky.

“Miss me, Luna?”

The voice that came out of Twilight’s mouth sent little flowery explosions off behind Luna’s eyeballs. It had a discordant undertone to it, and the entire voice sounded…

… evil.

“Sweet mother o’ mercy,” Applejack whispered. She had felt it to.

“What, everypony is asleep on my return?” Twilight (?) was suddenly on her feet, gazing around with her pitch black eyes. “I expected so much more from my ‘friends’.”

The last word was said with such biting sarcasm that everypony (and dragon) in the room recoiled away from the lavender unicorn, who merely frowned.

“No, no, no. This won’t do at all!” Twilight-who-was-not-Twilight insisted. “We should be celebrating! This should be a grand occasion! It should be held…” the unicorn grinned devilishly. “In a palace!”

And with those words, the room was filled with black streaked purple magic, and everyone* in the room vanished.

*(Everyone = everypony + dragon)

Descending

Princess Celestia sat atop her throne in the middle of her deserted reception hall. She sipped her tea gingerly and sighed.

They will be here soon.

Not ten minutes ago, the Solar Princess had ordered an entire squad of very bewildered-looking guards to lock all of the entrances, and barricade them with any resources they had at their disposal. The guards had hastened to comply, and now Celestia’s hall was complete barricaded in, with pegasus guards keeping watch on the windows.

I had wanted to avoid this conflict, but there’s no avoiding it now…

The air began to distort within the hallway, just a short distance from the foot of Celestia’s throne. Black energy began to crackle through the air as if the air itself was a pane of glass that was being shattered. The entire room filled with static, making Celestia’s coat puff straight up, and the room pitched, leaving seven ponies (five of whom looked ready to vomit) and one dragon (also very green in the face) standing in the middle of the hall.

“My favorite student, Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia said quietly. “I see you’ve brought your friends along with you. And my sister even chose to accompany you. How nice.”

Twilight’s body sank into an overly-sarcastic bow. “Oh, Princess Celestia, I’m so flattered.” Straightening up with a smug look, Twilight-who-was-not-Twilight continued, “Though I am surprised. You seem much less observant than you were a thousand years ago.”

“I know who you are,” Celestia said flatly, tactfully ignoring the six retching figures behind her. “But I have no idea what to call you. You aren’t Nightmare Moon anymore; that much I’m certain of.

Luna quickly scrabbled to her feet and joined her sister’s side. Princess Celestia gave her sister a concerned look. “Lu’, are you alright?”

Luna nodded briskly. “I’m fine.”

Possessed Twilight yawned hugely. “How touching; a family reunion. Of course, I’m glad that your thousand year banishment hasn’t given you a negative disposition towards your sister, Luna. I truly applaud you.”

Luna bristled. “I asked ‘Tia to forgive me, not the other way around, fiend.”

“Whatever. But you do bring up an interesting problem I now face,” Twilight’s body vanished in a flash of purple light, only to reappear next to Celestia. The Princess stiffened. “What do I call myself- hey!”

Twilight’s body moved quickly to avoid getting struck by the lightning that had extended from Celestia’s horn. The white Princess was positively glowing with furious energy.

“You have the nerve to control my student against her will,” Celestia said with cold fury, “you hurt her closest friends, endanger my sister, desecrate my throne room, and then you act like this is a game.” At the word ‘game’, another flash of lightning extended from Celestia’s horn. The possessed Twilight was more than ready for it this time, deflecting it with a casual flick of purple energy.

“Oh, please, Celestia,” her voice was laden with dark amusement, “you’ll have to really shoot to kill if you want to harm me.” She chuckled darkly. “Though, you’d have to destroy Twilight in the process. Could you bring yourself to do that? Perhaps a better question is, are you strong enough to do it?”

Celestia growled and shot another bolt of lightning at Possessed Twilight, who just sighed and reflected it back on the Princess, who dove to the side. The lightning missed Celestia by inches, and it seared her throne, melting some of the gold that it had been cast in.

“That was week, dearest Princess,” Twilight’s ears flicked in annoyance as she heard the soft patter of footsteps from behind her. She turned and glared at the five ponies, attempting to sneak up behind her. “Did you fools really think that would work?”

Rarity’s eyes widened in shock. “But, I even cast a spell to muffle our footsteps…”

“Tough luck,” Possessed Twilight spat. “Guess I’ll just have to cage you up like misbehaving animals.” With a black glow around her horn, five black, rippling cages appeared around Twilight’s five friends. As the cage appeared around Applejack, a black glow enveloped Spike as he was roughly thrown into the cage with the orange pony.

“You can’t keep us in here! That’s no fun!”

“It’s distinctly un-fabulous!”

“When I get out of here, I’m gonna -ow, my wing!”

“C-careful, Rainbow! You’ll agitate it again if y-you keep moving around l-like that…”

“Just stay still, RD, we’ll get outta here soon enough, Ah’m sure.”

“SILENCE!” Possessed Twilight shrieked at her captives, conjuring gags for the lot of them and tying together their limbs. “For the love of the moon, you’re enough to give me a headache.”

“Let them go,” Princess Celestia commanded, warning tones clear in her voice. “You have no quarrel with them.”

Possessed Twilight snorted. “Let go of the Elements of Harmony? Let go the five ponies who are all partly responsible for my defeat a second time? Right. Next, you’ll be telling me to go back to whatever ‘dark abyss’ I came from and never return.”

“What do you even want?” Luna asked.

“Well, that’s a very silly question, Luna,” Possessed Twilight paced back and forth in front of the throne. It would have been an extremely silly scene, had the smaller unicorn not been sparking with black energy.

“Revenge.

“Ever since we had a schism and split into two different minds, I’ve always found you weak,” Possessed Twilight spat at Luna, who flinched. “You never wanted to use your power for the real reason power exists!”

“Power exists to govern, to maintain order,” Celestia said quietly, “and to help the whole of ponykind.”

“That’s EXACTLY the kind of answer I would expect from you, Celestia. But you’re wrong! The only way to keep order is through the complete domination of the lesser ponies! You should know, of all ponies, since you’ve been in control of Equestria for over a thousand years. How easy has it been to let your dear sister back into the swing of things?”

“It has been my choice to not resume the duties I once had,” Princess Luna hissed.

“Because you’re weak! So I left you, and I found a pony who is even more powerful than both of you PUT TOGETHER!”

“You’re bluffing,” Princess Luna accused, but uncertainty wavered in her voice.

“Am I?” Possessed Twilight asked, a smug look planted on her face. “Are you willing to risk it? And even if you’re right, would you be willing to hurt your ‘beloved’ Twilight?”

“I-I…” Luna stuttered, and Possessed Twilight continued.

“I think it’s high time for the end of your reign, sisters. In fact, I think I should be the one to replace you.” Possessed Twilight frowned, looking down at her own relatively small unicorn body. “But first, I think some changes are in order.”

The caged ponies looked at each other in confusion, and even Princess Luna seemed bewildered; Celestia’s eyes widened in horror, however, and her mouth fell open. “You can’t… you can’t!” she cried.

“’Tia, what’s she planning on doing?”

“A couple of decades ago, one of my most brilliant unicorn spell casters took it upon himself to develop a series of transmutation spells,” Celestia said quietly. “His name was Greymane the Magnificent. For the most part, he succeeded. He developed a method to turn pumpkins into carriages, and mice into mindless stallions. But…”

Luna eyed the now-cackling Possessed Twilight, who was slowly being wrapped in swirling dark energy. “But what?”

“But his last endeavor was his demise. After observing me quietly for a time, he attempted to develop a way for a unicorn to become an alicorn. He tested it on himself, but the change killed him. He was one of the strongest unicorns alive, at the time…”

Luna’s eyes widened. “No…”

“All of his work was put into one book,” Celestia continued sadly, “including the alicorn spell. Twilight studied it while she was here.” Her eyes narrowed at the darkness surrounding Twilight. “And apparently, our old ‘friend’ has access to my students memories.”

Luna stomped her hooves. “Then how do we stop it? We can’t let her kill Twilight!”

Celestia bowed her head, tears glimmering in her eyes. “We can’t,” she said quietly.

“WHAT?!”

“We can’t stop it! If we do, then we kill Twilight for sure! No one can stop the process once it’s started!” Celestia said despairingly. “All we can do is hope Twilight is strong enough to stand it…”

“You don’t need to worry about that!” The darkness had now completely obscured Twilight’s body from view.

The Princesses watched in horror as the darkness swirled around the lavender unicorns laughing body, a miniature tornado of energy. Then the darkness rushed into Twilight’s body, vanishing completely. Twilight’s body convulsed, her eyes rolling up into her head, and began to shimmer. The outlines of her body became smudged, blurred, as if somepony had taken an eraser to her and rubbed lightly, smearing her edges.

Then, Twilight’s body froze, suspended a few inches off the ground.

“What is-“ Luna began.

BOOM.

Twilight’s body exploded in a shock wave of black energy that blew out all the windows of the hall. The caged ponies were thrown against a wall by the force of the blast, and the two Princesses had to brace themselves against Celestia’s throne to avoid being blown backwards.

Twilight’s body lay motionless in a pool of blood as residual black energy swirled around her. Luna made to run to the fallen unicorn, but Celestia held out a hoof.

“Look,” the elder sister said.

Twilight’s body had changed. Her legs were longer, and looked much more graceful. Her body had extended itself, easily doubling that of Applejack’s, and rivaling that of Princess Celestia’s. Her horn had lengthened and had been tapered down to an extremely sharp point, and her mane had grown to cover her longer neck.

And there, hanging from Twilight’s bleeding sides, were a sleek, bloody pair of wings. They looked as if they had erupted violently from the unicorn’s sides. The more Luna looked at them, the more she realized how inherently different they were from either hers or Celestia’s. They were angular, more sharply defined. If Celestia’s wings could be compared to swan wings, it could be said that Twilight had the wings of an eagle.

She’s… gorgeous, Luna realized with a start. It was true. Even though her sides were torn open, and her wings dripping with blood, Twilight was one of the most beautiful creatures that Luna had ever seen.

“Ah can’t believe mah eyes,” Applejack had managed to work the gag out of her mouth with her tongue and was staring in astonishment at Twilight’s body. “I-is she dead?”

“I don’t kn-“ Princess Celestia’s reply was cut of by a raspy breath that escaped Twilight’s mouth.

“Twi’?” Applejack said nervously.

“You… should be honored…” the voice that emanated from Twilight’s mouth was drastically different from earlier. It was, on the surface, still Twilight’s voice. But underneath it ran a current of what Princess Luna could only describe as raw power.

The new alicorn slowly picked herself up off the ground. Black energy ran like electricity from the top of her horn and across her body, making her glow with a sinister light. It flowed down to her hooves, forming inky black slippers. Slowly, a black armor began to form across the purple alicorn’s body, pulsing as if it were alive.

Princess Celestia visibly stiffened. “And what,” she said, her voice cold as ice, “should we be honored for?”

“You just witnessed the birth of a goddess,” the purple alicorn rasped. “And her name is Shadow Star.” The alicorn paused, rolling the name around. “You know, I think I like that name. It has a nice ring to it. Not a huge leap from ‘Twilight Sparkle’, either. Shadows exist in the twilight, and I have ascended beyond a mere sparkle.”

“You’re sick,” Luna whispered.

“What was that, now?”

“YOU’RE SICK!” Luna screamed. “YOU ALMOST KILLED TWILIGHT, JUST SO YOU COULD CHANGE THE WAY YOU LOOKED? TO CHANGE YOUR STUPID NAME? HOW COU-“

Luna never finished her rant. Her entire body was flung across the room, hitting the wall loudly and collapsing in a heap.

“Luna!”

“Quiet,” the newly christened Shadow Star said softly, horn glowing. Celestia’s mouth closed with a snap, a startled look appearing in her eyes. “I really grow tired of all the ponies shouting in here. It’s becoming quite irritating.”

Celestia’s jaw worked furiously as she tried to free herself from her invisible muzzle. Her horn glowed a bright yellow, and beads of sweat lined her forehead.

Shadow Star rolled her eyes. “You really don’t get it, do you? You think this change was just for looks?” The purple alicorn cackled. “You fool. There was vast, untouched stores of power in this little unicorn, reservoirs that even you, in all your infinite wisdom, didn’t find. And it doesn’t take a genius to realize that alicorns are the most powerful beings in Equestria.”

Celestia glared at Shadow Star as the dark pony continued. “And you couldn’t even beat me when my body was a unicorn. What makes you think, in that feeble little brain of yours, that you could ever stand a chance against me now?”

Shadow turned and gazed at the caged ponies, saying, “You can’t even use the Elements of Harmony to defeat me. They’re useless without the spark. And guess who controls Magic?”

Celestia slammed a hoof against the ground in frustration. “Oh, right. I guess you can talk now, just as long as you promise not to scream.”

The white alicorn sighed with relief as the magic was released. “You could have destroyed me when you first recovered from your transformation,” she whispered quietly. “You’ve had multiple opportunities to exact revenge on both my sister and me. Why haven’t you?”

“To put it simply, Celestia,” Shadow calmly walked up to the Princess of the Sun, removing the blood from her wings as she walked, “you’re just too much fun.”

Celestia gritted her teeth in anger, but did nothing. “You’re beyond cruel.”

“I know. Isn’t it lovely? I worked on it for a thousand years, you know.” Shadow Star had situated herself on Celestia’s throne. “You know, I truly think I pull this off better than you.” With a flash of black light, the five cages appeared behind the throne, their residents groaning as teleportation nausea hit them again.

“Hmmm. How will I entertain myself now…” Shadow Star mused to herself, taking in the hall. “I could have you clean this entire place, but that would be letting you off too easy. Without magic? No, that isn’t inventive enough.”

Suddenly, the purple alicorn straightened, with a mad gleam in her eyes. Celestia felt herself shudder at the sight.

“Luna! Quit stalling, pick yourself up, and get over here!” Shadow Star shouted. Ignoring the alicorn’s colorful protests, Shadow picked Luna up by a hoof and dragged her thrashing body across the floor, dumping her next to her sister.

“How dare you handle me in such a way?” Luna snarled, flying to her feet. “I will NOT be tr-“

“Oh, shut up,” Shadow said briskly, “and listen closely to what I have to say.”

Anger sparked in Luna’s eyes, but she closed her mouth and listened.

“To keep me from destroying the entire city of Canterlot,” Shadow paused, grinning at the squeak that came from Fluttershy, “and believe me, little pegasus, I can do it.” Fluttershy cowered against the corner of her cage. Shadow laughed and continued, “To keep me from destroying this entire city, we’re going to have the grandest of all battles.”

Luna and Celestia both froze as an insane giggle came from Shadow. “That’s right, Princesses. A no holds barred fight to the death between the two most powerful creatures in Equestria, aside from me.”

Silence.

“You can’t expect me to fight my sister!” Celestia and Luna shouted in unison. “We were just reunited!”

“You WILL fight,” Shadow commanded, all traces of amusement fleeing from her voice, “or I start killing the Elements of Harmony, starting with…” Shadow Star gazed evenly at the cages, silently making a decision. “…the yellow pegasus.”

Tipping Point

The shocked silence that had settled over the royal hall was crushing. The two Princesses looked at each other, horrified expressions etched into their faces. The five captive ponies looked at each other, wide eyed. It was Applejack that finally broke the silence.

“Don’t do it, Princesses! Yer both the only hope that Twiligh-“

“SILENCE!” Shadow Star roared, the power in her voice shaking the hall. Quickly, Applejack’s gag was replaced. “If you speak again,” the purple alicorn snarled, “then I will kill Fluttershy extremely slowly, and it will be YOUR FAULT.”

Applejack sank back into a corner, eyes wide with fear.

“Now,” Shadow Star turned back to the Princesses, “what say you, oh royalty of two? Will you fight until one of you lies dead upon the floor? Or will you have the blood of an innocent pony on your hands?”

“You haven’t left us much choice,” Luna hissed quietly. Celestia turned a surprised eye on her sister.

“’Lu-“

“’Tia, we don’t have a choice!” Luna whirled on her sister, fires of rage burning in her eyes. “It doesn’t matter if Twilight isn’t the one up there! We can’t let her friends die!” Quieter, she added, “I can’t let them die. She wouldn’t want that…”

“Luna…”

“You OWE it to Twilight, Celestia,” Luna said, backing away from her sister slowly. “You owe her too much to not let her friends die.”

“I can’t kill you!” Celestia cried. “I just got you back! We just started becoming sisters again!”

“Don’t you think I feel the same way?” Luna cried out in response. “I don’t want to kill my own sister! I hated fighting you last time! But this goes beyond what we want!” The midnight blue alicorn turned a hateful eye at the black and purple alicorn. “We’re going to die anyway,” she said quietly. “So we might as well do as much as we can to save Twilight’s friends.”

Celestia blinked back the tears that had sprung to her eyes. Luna was just letting them flow freely. The Lunar Princess wasn’t completely sure why she was crying. She was crying for the miserable situation. She hadn’t even been back in Equestria for two years, and here she was, standing in the exact same place as she had when she challenged her sister’s rule.

She was crying for the caged ponies, feeling the pain radiate off of them. They were witnessing one of their best friends being taken over, against her will. They saw her friend act with extreme cruelty, and they were having trouble separating Shadow Star from Twilight Sparkle. If they survived, they would never forget the pain of this day.

But mostly, she realized she was crying for Twilight and herself. She had only known the lavender unicorn for a short while, but she had developed a bond with Twilight that was one of the strongest Luna had ever made. They had grown close, far closer than Luna had thought possible.

Wistfully, Luna levitated out the stretch of parchment that Applejack had presented to her back in the library. Unfurling it, she gazed at Twilight’s rendition of Luna’s sky, smiling slightly as she found herself among the stars.

“Oh, what is this?”

The parchment vanished from Luna’s control, appearing in front of Shadow Star, her lips curled in a sneer.

“I thought Twilight had burned all of these,” she said coldly. “Oh well, I’m sure I will be more than capable of finishing the job.”

And before Luna could protest, before she could even move to stop the purple alicorn, the parchment was engulfed in a black fire. After a brief second, the parchment crumbled into ash.

As the ash drifted to the floor, Luna felt a rage that she hadn’t felt in a thousand years well up inside her. Dark blue electricity sparked from the Lunar Princess’s horn, and her entire body shook with fury.

“’Tia,” Luna’s voice was deceptively calm, “I don’t know if I’ll be able to hold myself back.”

Celestia nodded sadly, her own horn giving off yellow sparks. Her eyes narrowed into focused slits, and her body became enveloped in a radiant glow of sunlight. Opposite of her, Luna’s quaking body became illuminated in a darker light, like that of the moon. The two alicorns tensed their muscles…

… and leaped at each other. The glows surrounding the two of them were focused into two blades that extended from either side of the alicorns; Celestia’s blades burned with the fires of the sun itself, and Luna channeled the fierce energy of the stars into hers. They clashed together; throwing sparks of fire and darkness onto the ground, and landed opposite of where they began.

Luna was quicker to recover, whirling around and galloping toward her sister. Celestia stamped her hoof against the ground, sending a wave of blinding white energy towards Luna. Luna brought her blades together and nimbly cut through the oncoming wave of energy, sending the two halves careening off in opposite directions. One half of the energy wave hit an invisible shield that surrounded Shadow Star and dissipated with a hiss and a shower of black sparks.

Luna ferociously swung her blades down, aiming at Celestia’s head. Parrying the blow with her own sunfire blades, Celestia aimed a counter blow at Luna’s side, forcing the alicorn to twist out of position. Turning swiftly, Celestia bucked her hind legs into Luna’s chest, sending the smaller alicorn sprawling.

“Excellent!” Shadow cried, clapping her hooves together excitedly.

Luna snarled with a feral intensity and scrambled back to her feet, swinging her blades up defensively. Celestia pushed her advantage, delivering blow after blow against Luna’s guard. While Luna may have been quicker, Celestia was the stronger of the two, and Luna began to stagger backwards. Seeing an opening, Celestia gave a quick thrust of her blades towards Luna’s left side, leaving a sizable gash.

Instead of trying to dodge it, though, Luna leaned into the blow, knocking away the burning blades with her own body and slashed at the white alicorn’s right wing. Hurriedly, Celestia clamped her wing against her side, but not before the starry blades drew blood, sending quite a few white feathers to the ground.

Growling, Celestia detonated a small shock wave between the two, blasting the both of them backwards. The larger alicorn took the blast in stride, landing on her hooves on one side of the hall. Luna, however, went sprawling again, landing in a bloody heap on the opposite side.

Shadow Star laughed manically, relishing the conflict. The caged ponies and dragon looked on with horror at the deadly bladed dance between the two royal sisters, gasping around their gags every time one of the ponies landed a hit.

Hissing in pain, Luna struggled to her feet, her horn glowing. Glancing at her side expectantly, she sighed. No matter how much magic she pumped into her wound, the bloody gash refused to heal.

“I forgot,” Luna’s raspy voice signaled for a brief reprieve for the two combatants, “that wounds inflicted by our magic can’t be magically healed.”

“It certainly is an annoyance,” Celestia replied flatly, preening her wing. The wound was small, but deep, and was bleeding profusely.

“Simply fascinating,” Shadow Star said, sinking back into the throne, her voice laden with sarcasm. “But since neither of you lie dead on the floor, there’s no reason to stop fighting.”

The sisters glared at Shadow Star, tensing their muscles. The purple alicorn raised her eyebrows.

“I dare you to try.”

Cursing under her breath, Luna turned back to her sister. Celestia did the same, although she voiced her opinion of the situation much louder.

“You have no idea how badly I want to destroy you.”

The purple alicorn blinked in surprise, then chuckled lowly. “If only you could, hmm?”

Celestia and Luna gave each other an apologetic look, refocusing their ethereal blades.

“If you win, ‘Tia,” Luna said quietly, “kill me quickly.”

Celestia nodded sadly. The two alicorns tensed their muscles and leaped into battle once more.

~*~*~*~*~

Twilight was aware.

The first thing she was aware of was how cold she was. Am I dead? she wondered idly. Do the dead feel this cold?

The next thing she was aware of was that she was huddled against a corner, with her tail in her hooves. A corner means walls, she thought slowly, and walls mean a room.

She was aware that she couldn’t see. The room she was in was completely black. Slowly, she reached out for her magic, searching for the glimmering pool of her power.

She found nothing.

Panicking, she tore through her mind, vainly searching for that comforting presence that had been with her ever since the day she was born.

Nothing.

She felt as though she wanted to cry. However, touching a hoof to her face, she realized she had been weeping for who knows how long. Her coat directly under her eyes were soaked through and through, and matted with dirt and grime. Why was I crying…?

Hopelessly, she continued searching her mind, looking for anything she could cling to. Here and there, faint wisps of magic lingered in her mind, but as she gathered these wisps about her, she felt something wrong with them. They were tainted with a blackness that Twilight could not identify.

She continued to gather the whispers of magic left within her mind. Soon, she found that the wisps of magic were accompanied by memories. Reaching out for a particularly bright wisp, she felt a memory slam into her mind…

… memories of dull, cruel, twisted ponies she had so mercilessly slaughtered to achieve her own end, turning her back upon all the lessons that her friendship with Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy had given her…

… her own cruel actions back on a more real plane, where she had treated her friends like weaklings, abusing them both physically and verbally…

… and, the most painful of all, coming across her beloved Luna, only to not recognize her and push her to the side, like a forgotten relic of the past.

Twilight had thought that she had run out of tears. She quickly discovered she was wrong as several more flowed down her face, dropping to the floors with soft plips.

I’ve been horrible. I deserve this.

A soft light began to glow from behind Twilight. Turning her tear soaked face towards the source, the purple unicorn gasped as a translucent Luna stood there, giving Twilight a kind smile. Twilight reached a hoof out to touch her, but her hoof went right through the image of the pony she loved, hitting the wall on the other side. A sad look came across the still-smiling Luna’s eyes, and she vanished, plunging the room into darkness once more.

Twilight wailed, sinking back down into a heap. Tears continued to flow freely from her eyes as she slowly cried herself into exhaustion. She cried for minutes, her wails reducing to sobs, which eventually declined into the occasional sniff.

Twilight forced her dull mind to gather the wisps of magic she had collected and, ignoring the nausea brought on by the taint within it, she projected a weak light source onto the wall.

She instantly recognized the room she was in. It was the same room that she had entered so naively, opening it and herself to the horror that lurked within.

Nightmare Moon, Twilight recalled, still feeling that sinister presence heavy on her conscious. She had been waiting in here, for me. And I trotted like a good little fool, right into her trap.

Her eyes wandered to the entrance of the cave. The locks hung from the large wooden door loosely, broken from the keys that Twilight had provided. The dust of the crystalline tools littered the floor in front of it.

Strange. I could have sworn that I used the keys from the other side…

The thought was lost, though, as she gazed at the broken locks. A sadness took root inside of her, growing until it filled her up inside. A rotten apple, a deflated balloon, a flawed gemstone, a crushed butterfly, and a shattered thundercloud seemed to gaze right into the unicorn’s soul, and it filled her with anguish.

They probably hate me. This is probably symbolic of their feelings for me now – broken, fractured, decayed….

… Discarded.

Before, Twilight new, she would have felt an irrational anger. She would have lashed out, striking at anything close. She would have turned on the ponies who loved her for who she was, and would have thrown them aside.

Hauling herself up, she walked slowly towards the door. Moved by something she couldn’t quite explain, she reached up and gently touched the rotten apple with her hoof.

“Heya Twi’.”

Twilight whirled around. A transparent Applejack was standing in her prison, a stern, yet kind expression on her face.

“A-Applejack!” Twilight was shocked to see her orange friend standing in the chamber.

“Yeah, that’s mah name,” Applejack said with a grin.

“How are you- Why are you here?” Twilight’s face fell. “I’m sorry, that was rude… You probably hate me after all I’ve done…”

“Hate you, Twilight? Ah don’t think Ah could ever bring mahself to hate such a kind pony.” Applejack held up a hoof to silence Twilight’s protest. “Ah know what yer thinkin’. And yeah, Ah was a mite surprised when ya came home after yer date wit’ a princess, actin’ the way ya were. But Ah realized t’wasn’t you. Ah can’t blame ye fer what happened that day, Twi’. You got it the worst outta all o’ us.” The apparition of Applejack walked over to the stunned Twilight and gave her a ghostly nuzzle. It felt like wind on Twilight’s neck. “Ah still love ya, Sugarcube. That ain’t ever gonna change.”

Twilight closed her eyes, letting her friend’s words wash over her. “Thank you, Applejack.”

She heard Applejack chuckle, but when she opened her eyes, the orange pony had vanished.

Turning back slowly towards the door, she noticed that the apple lock no longer looked rotten, and the crystalline key had reformed itself within the lock, gleaming with a new light.

Looking at each of the locks in turn, Twilight knew what she had to do. But which one do I choose next?

“Haven’t I learned anything?” Twilight reprimanded herself. “My friends don’t care who goes first or last. Well, except maybe Rainbow Dash. But I think she’ll understand…”

Twilight gently reached her hoof up to the next lock, touching the deflated balloon gently.

“Twilight! I’m so glad to see you’re okay!”

A rush of air hit Twilight’s back as an ethereal Pinkie Pie fell through her purple friend, vanishing beyond the door. With a sheepish look, her pink head reappeared on Twilight’s side of the door.

“Oops, forgot about the whole ‘apparition’ thing. Sorry writer, I’ll do better!”

Twilight just stared at Pinkie in confusion, while the earth pony bounced back into the room.

“I heard your conversation with Applejack, and while I don’t think I would have worded it the way she did, I agree with everything she said, and you’re an awesome friend that I love to PARTY with!”

Twilight felt a smile blossom across her face.

“There’s that smile that fills my heart with sunshine~!”

“So, you don’t hate me either?”

“Well, DUH, you silly filly! Isn’t that what I’ve been saying this entire time! I love you just as much as Applejack! Although,” Pinkie broke off with a very serious look upon her face, “there might be one other pony that loves you more than all of us put together!”

And with that, Pinkie Pie vanished. Unsurprised, Twilight turned to see that the balloon had inflated itself, and the jeweled key was resting in its lock.

Reaching up, Twilight brushed the diamond with her hoof, and jumped at the resulting squeal.

“Eeeeeew!! It’s all dusty in here! Twilight, how CAN you tolerate being here?!”

“Uhh, Rarity. I’m kinda trapped in here.”

“Oh, oh, right.” Even as a ghostly figure, Rarity still shone with a beauty that anypony would kill for on their best day. The white unicorn looked at Twilight radiantly. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief to see that her glamorous friend was not blind.

“Now, I’m positively sure that you’re going to hear this entire shindig from Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, but I wanted to let you know that you will always be a darling in my heart, no matter how awful your worst day can make you.”

Twilight flinched, and Rarity looked mortified. “Oh, Twilight, do accept my apology! That was ill-thought out. Forgive me!”

“I should be the one asking for forgiveness.”

“Nonsense. We all love you in our own way, and we’ll always forgive you before you even ask for forgiveness!” Rarity tossed her purple mane with a flick of her head. “You’re a beautiful soul, Twilight, one that a pony such as me can be jealous of.”

Twilight blinked, surprised that she had anything beautiful Rarity could covet. “Thank you, Rarity.”

“No need to thank me, love. But I really have taken my lion’s share of time, haven’t I?” And with a kind smile, Rarity vanished.

Twilight felt warm all over. At least three of her friends had forgiven her for her actions. She could only hope that the remaining two were like minded. Noting that the diamond lock now gleamed just as brightly as the reconstructed key within it, Twilight reached out and gingerly touched the crushed butterfly.

“Oh, Twilight! Are you hurt?” Fluttershy’s worried tones filled the chamber.

“No, Fluttershy, I’m alright.”

“A-are you sure? I don’t want my friends to get hurt, you know.”

“Fluttershy, I think I was the one doing most of the hurting recently,” Twilight said sadly.

“Now, we’re going to have none of that!” Fluttershy said with surprising assertiveness. “I firmly believe that you were not yourself that day, and even as you were in your fit, I found it within my heart to forgive you. Your kindness is akin to my own, Twilight, and I love that about you. There was no way that the Twilight I know and love could do such mean, hurtful things. You’re the strongest out of us,” Fluttershy concluded, “and I know you’ll recover from this.”

“Fluttershy…”

“Oh, I do hope that was an okay speech. I had to rush it together since Rarity took so much time. Which was fine, of course.”

“It was great, Fluttershy,” Twilight said, tears shimmering in her eyes. “Thank you.”

And with a smile, Fluttershy disappeared too.

The butterfly on the door seemed to move as it cast a soft light over the door, gleaming with life. Twilight smiled. “That leaves only one…” Gingerly, she touched the shattered thundercloud.

“A PRINCESS? Oh, man, tell me you’re kidding! You, Twilight, got with a PRINCESS?”

Of all the things Twilight was expecting, this was not one of them. “W-well, we didn’t exactly get together-“

“But you went on a DATE!” an excited Rainbow Dash squealed. “Do you know how totally AWESOME that is?”

Twilight shrugged. Rainbow Dash frowned and leaned in close to her purple friend’s face. “Hey, you’re not STILL moping, are you? What, did you expect me to not forgive you? Come on, Twilight, you’re smarter than that! I’m the Element of Loyalty, for Pinkie’s sake!” Rainbow waved her arms wildly. “I would have been the first to forgive you!”

The tears that had built up in Twilight’s eyes spilled over as she smiled. Her heart seemed to thaw the ice that it was encased in, and Twilight felt warmer.

And a whole heck of a lot happier.

“Such a silly filly, as Pinkie would say. You know we all love you,” Rainbow Dash pointed at the door, “and I think it’s time for you to admit something else.”

Twilight knew what she would see before she turned. A crescent moon had appeared on the door. “Do you love her?”

“I do.” There was no doubt in Twilight’s voice.

“Then go rescue her already!”

Rescue?

As Rainbow Dash vanished, the door slowly swung open. A huge lake was shimmering on the other side, sparkles of light floating up off the surface of the water. Carefully approaching it, Twilight gazed into it’s depths to find an image that was not her reflection.

~*~*~*~*~

Shadow Star cackled with glee as the two alicorn sisters stood panting, blood dripping from various cuts and gashes. Luna’s left eye was closed as a cut above it seemed to continue to drip blood, and Celestia’s breathing was labored.

Then they tensed for what seemed like the millionth time. Luna leapt at her sister…

… but Celestia held herself back, her horn glowing. The two large sunfire blades split into dozens of tiny daggers. Luna’s eyes widened and she extended her wings, trying to dodge the daggers.

She was too slow. Celestia sent the wall of daggers flying at Luna. They pierced her wings, her body, and her legs, and Luna loosed an unearthly scream as the burning daggers pinned her too the wall of the hall.

“Good!”

With a sad look in her eyes, Celestia walked toward her weakened sister, who hung limply from the wall.

“Now, finish her!”

Celestia took a deep breath, giving Luna an apologetic look…

… and the daggers disappeared. Luna fell to the floor in a heap, groaning and bleeding from multiple wounds.

Shadow Star frowned. “What do you think you’re doing? I. Said. Finish her.”

“No,” Celestia said quietly.

“What?!”

“I SAID NO!” Celestia screamed. Her mane began to spark as her entire body began to glow. With her voice more under control, the white alicorn said slowly. “Luna was right. I owe much to my student Twilight Sparkle. And if I were to destroy the only love that my student ever had, she would never forgive me.”

“How touching.”

Celestia’s mane and tail continued to spark as it gradually changed color. It ceased to be a flowing cascade of soft, bright colors, and instead began to burn a bright crimson. Celestia closed her eyes, slowing her breathing significantly. The air around her shimmered with heat, and flame began to erupt from her horn.

Shadow Star began to smile as Celestia said,

“I think it’s about time someone challenged your claim, ‘your highness’.”

Freed

“This is the fight I wanted to see in you!” Shadow Star exclaimed with glee. “This is perfect!”

Celestia gazed at the purple and black alicorn with nothing short of rage in her now-crimson eyes. Her mane and tail had fully transformed into roaring infernos, and fire would occasionally erupt violently from the white alicorn’s horn.

Shadow Star had responded in kind, effortlessly gathering energy around her. Her mane and tail had become pure, flowing darkness that occasionally sparked with purple energy. Her horn had become wreathed in her signature inky armor, and her eyes glowed with a sinister light.

Both alicorns looked terrifying and beautiful at the same time.

Celestia began to walk calmly in a circle. Shadow Star followed suit, mirroring her foe’s gait. They circled each other for a while, staring the other down, before Celestia broke the silence.

“Before we begin, I have some questions to ask you,” the white alicorn said with a deceptive calmness.

“And why should I allow such questions?”

“Humor me.”

Shadow Star snorted with amusement. “Fine. Ask away.”

“How did you end up inside of my student?” Celestia demanded.

“Ah, you have nopony but yourself to blame, dearest Celestia,” Shadow Star said mockingly. “When you employed your student and her five friends to be the conduit of my destruction while I was still Nightmare Moon, you armed them with the most powerful magical force in Equestria.” Shadow Star paused, thinking. “Of course, I might be stronger than even the Elements now, but I guess we’ll never be able to test that.”

“Regardless, when I was assaulted by that magic, it crushed my mind into multiple tiny fragments. I was, for all intents and purposes, defeated.”

“And yet here you stand.”

“Curious, isn’t it? You underestimated my will to live, dear leader. When the magic of the Elements receded back into Twilight Sparkle, it carried a piece of my mind with it.”

“So you’re a parasite,” Princess Celestia spat.

“Such harsh words, Princess. I’d prefer to think of myself as an entrepreneur.” Shadow Star gave a quick laugh. “Anything else you’d like to ask?”

Celestia kept circling around Shadow Star. “How did you take control of Twilight?”

“Ah, that was probably the most fun I’ve had in centuries!” Shadow Star said giddily. “It was all too easy to lure Twilight into a false sense of security. Pose as her conscious, give her dreams that she wouldn’t remember, trick her into severing the bonds with her own friends, and to top it all off, trap her in her own mind! Glorious, isn’t it?”

Celestia stumbled slightly, absorbing this information. “Twilight still exists?”

“Who knows?” Shadow Star shrugged. “Perhaps my superior mind consumed her a long time ago.”

Celestia narrowed her eyes at the purple alicorn.

“I like that look,” Shadow whispered. “Finally, you cast off the facade of a benevolent ruler. This is the REAL you! Ruthless! Cruel! Full of hatred! Oh, it’s magnificent! You look like you’re ready to kill me!”

“I am.”

Celestia’s horn erupted with light as bright as the sun. Shadow Star stumbled as the light blinded her, and then the purple alicorn was engulfed in a bright flame.

The scream that came from the purple alicorn was unearthly. It made the caged captives recoil and clutch their hooves (or talons, in Spike’s case) over their ears. Princess Celestia simply watched as the bright spell fire consumed Shadow Star…

… Or so she thought. The scream turned into a maniacal laugh as Shadow Star simply stepped out of the blazing fire, horn glowing darkly. The fire disappeared with a soft whump.

“That was weak, Celestia,” Shadow Star goaded. “Surely you can do better!”

Celestia let loose a primal growl, hurling herself at the purple alicorn. Her sunfire-bathed weapon had reappeared, this time in the shape of a spear. Celestia hurled the blazing lance at Shadow Star, who fluidly dodged to the side, conjuring her own weapon. Her weapon of choice was a black, wicked-looking scythe. With a triumphant yell, Shadow Star swung the scythe down towards the white alicorn.

Celestia barely dodged the point of the wicked weapon, throwing herself to the side. Despite the agile move, the scythe still managed to graze Celestia’s wing, and she yelped with pain as Shadow Star’s weapon grazed her side. The wound it left was shallow, but Celestia felt overly weakened from the blow.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” Shadow Star said softly, floating the weapon up to her own eyes, appraising it with care. “It’s a crafty little augment that I found digging through your student’s memories. Did you know you can imbue magical weapons to inflict certain ailments upon its victims? For example, THIS little trick drains energy from the wounded with every strike.” The scythe began to glow with a white light, heavily contrasting the black color of the weapon. “And then it gives that energy to me.”

As Shadow Star spoke, the white glow slowly faded from the weapon. The purple alicorn sighed contentedly.

“Marvelous,” she whispered. “You alicorns are really something else.”

“You leech,” Celestia hissed, picking herself up off the ground. “You’re nothing but a worthless parasite, feeding off of everypony around you!”

“Brave words, coming from somepony in your position,” Shadow Star’s face lost all of its humor, and she looked coldly at Celestia. “If you give up now, I promise to kill you quickly.”

“Never.” Celestia spat at the purple alicorn.

Shadow Star’s face twisted in anger. “So be it.” The air hissed around her scythe as she twirled it expertly through the air. She began to walk towards Celestia, who was wobbling on her feet. “It’s a shame, really,” Shadow Star muttered with mock sadness. “You would have made a highly satisfying slave.”

With a yell, Celestia launched herself at the purple alicorn, abandoning all magical assaults in favor of physical contact. She never made it to her target, hitting the invisible barrier that surrounded Shadow Star and bouncing off, landing in an ungraceful heap at Shadow Star’s hooves.

“You’re a fool!” Shadow Star yelled, hurling the white alicorn against the wall with her magic. Celestia grunted in pain. “You knew it was hopeless, and yet you still fought me!” Picking Celestia up again, Shadow Star again hurled her towards the golden throne. Celestia’s body collided with the gleaming chair, twisting and contorting in strange ways.

“This was over before it began.”

Slowly, savoring the moment, Shadow Star walked up to Celestia, the scythe floating in front of her forebodingly.

“Say your final goodbyes, Princess,” the purple alicorn hissed cruelly. “I’m sure the Elements of Harmony will give you the audience you deserve.”

It was all the bloodied and battered alicorn could do to turn her head towards the captive ponies. A single tear flowed from Celestia’s eyes as she mouthed I’m sorry towards Twilight’s friends.

Shadow Star grinned and brought the scythe down through the air with a hiss, burying the blade in Celestia’s back.

~*~*~*~*~

Twilight teetered precipitously on the edge of the shimmering lake. I look lie that? She had thought, seeing her now-alien body gleaming with inky blackness, newly armed with a pair of wings and a long, tapered horn.

She had been watching in horror as the scene in the royal hall unfolded. She gasped when Luna and Celestia started fighting, screamed at the reflection of Celestia to spare Luna, and breathed a huge sigh of relief as the midnight blue alicorn survived.

And then she witnessed the fight between her mentor and her possessor. She watched, stunned, as the furious Celestia changed into the pure embodiment of fire, and gasped as Nightmare Moon-possessed body became some evil mockery of the same transformation. She gritted her teeth in fury as she listened to her possessor’s cool explanation of how she ended up in Twilight’s mind, and how she had assumed control of Twilight’s body and power.

“I’m still here! I’m not dead!” Twilight screamed vainly at the lake, even though she knew the two alicorns couldn’t hear her.

And then the scythe was buried in Celestia’s back.

“No!”

Twilight felt her knees wobble. She had thought her mentor to be infallible, powerful beyond measure. To see Celestia felled so easily shook her to her very core.

How could she – I – be so powerful? The thought of facing down that monster frightened her.

“Get a hold of yourself, girl. You have ponies to save, and you can’t do it shaking in your hooves!” Twilight drew herself up proudly, only to deflate a few seconds later. “But how do I save anypony if I can’t even control my own body?”

“Jump!” five voices chorused from behind her. Even though they all shouted at the same time, Twilight could easily identify her five friends’ voices.

So she jumped straight up into the air a few inches, not going anywhere.

“Oh, for the love of…” Rainbow Dash’s irritated voice sounded from behind her.

“Don’t worry, I’ll help!” Pinkie Pie’s voice rang out and Twilight felt a solid push from behind, sending her right into the lake.

“Pinkie Pie! How did you even do that?”

“Do what?”

Twilight crashed through the surface of the water. She opened her mouth to scream, but choked as she inhaled water. She began to thrash as she ran out of air. Panicked thoughts of filled her mind as she convinced herself that this was how she was going to die.

Don’t fight it. Even though she couldn’t hear a thing through the water, Twilight felt her friends’ presence against her conscious. Don’t struggle.

So Twilight went limp. As soon as she did, all panicked thoughts fled her mind. Despite being completely submerged, the unicorn found that she was able to breathe normally, as if the water was air itself.

Where do I go from here?

As if in answer, a light began to glow right beneath her. Twilight, seeing no other option, began to paddle as best she could towards the glow. She was no real athlete, so her progress was painstakingly slow. As she descended, she felt a small thread of light weave itself through her spirit.

After what seemed like hours, Twilight finally reached the source of the glow. It was a small sun emblem, much like the one emblazoned on Princess Celestia’s flank. Twilight reached a hoof out in a now-familiar motion and gently touched the emblem. The glow expanded, surrounding Twilight and momentarily blinding her.

When she recovered her vision, she was standing in the middle of a large, circular room. The single wall that spanned the entire room was decorated in a beautiful mural. Curiously, Twilight wandered over to inspect it, and gasped as she realized that she was the subject of the painting.

She saw herself as a little filly, glowing with power as she trashed the room when she took the test for gifted unicorns. She saw herself barricaded in a room with books, her only friends through those early years. She saw herself fraught with worry over the return of Nightmare Moon.

A smile spread across her face as she saw the artist’s depiction of her friends. She had been through a lot with them, and if she could go back and do it all over again, she’d find herself with the same five ponies that she started with.

Skipping ahead, Twilight’s eyes settled upon a rendition of Nightmare Night. She was there, of course, as were all of her friends, but they were circled around a larger figure. Princess Luna stood, in all of her artistic glory, amid a ring of ponies. While most of them were fleeing, Twilight realized, a lone purple unicorn was moving towards her.

In every scene after that, the artist’s Twilight always had a faint crescent moon background. The real Twilight put a hoof against the wall.

“Who made this?” Twilight wondered. As if answering her voice, the floor began to glow with a soft white light.

When Twilight first appeared in the room, she had not paid much attention to the floor. Now, she realized that the floor was carved into the semblance of a crescent moon, and had now begun to glow.

“Luna.” Twilight felt warmth wash over her as she thought of the kind, gorgeous Princess that she had fallen for so long ago. “Luna, I love you.” As the words left her mouth, the glow expanded to cover the entire floor, turning it into glass and revealing the royal hall.

~*~*~*~*~

“Pathetic.”

Shadow Star lazily tossed Celestia’s unmoving body away from the throne. It landed in the middle of the hallway with a thump, and Shadow Star settled herself on the golden chair.

“Now I’m bored,” she complained to nopony in particular. “What will be my next source of amusement?” Her gaze fell to the shell-shocked looking ponies trapped in their cages. “Should I play around with these insects? No, I don’t think they’ll be able to stand it for very long…”

A raspy breath came from Luna as she twitched slightly.

“Oh! You’re still alive? I had forgotten about you!” Gleefully, Shadow Star used her magic to once again pick up Luna by her back leg. This time, Luna couldn’t find the strength to protest, and she just hung limply as Shadow Star floated the midnight blue alicorn to the base of the throne.

“Now, how am I going to make this fun…?” the purple alicorn thought quietly.

“Of co-“

Her exclamation of enlightenment was suddenly cut off by a loud rattling sound. Looking around in confusion, Shadow Star’s gaze settled on a gyrating Pinkie Pie.

“Is that pony having a seizure?” Shadow Star asked Applejack roughly. The orange pony shook her head in response.

“Well, what’s going on with her, then?” Shadow Star demanded. Applejack just grunted. “Oh, right, I guess I should remove the gag… I swear to the moon, earth pony, if you start yelling, you’ll be dead before you hit the floor.”

Applejack’s gag vanished. “Instead o’ askin’ me, yer highness,” Applejack’s words dripped with sarcasm, “maybe ya should ask Pinkie Pie herself.”

Shadow Star’s horn glowed darkly as Pinkie’s gag vanished too.

“Tail twitch, eye twitch, ear flip, tail twitch!” Pinkie Pie blurted.

“What is she talking about?”

“Twilight!” Pinkie Pie shouted at the purple alicorn. “Twilight is coming, and oh pony, is she pissed off!”

Luna opened one of her eyes slightly. “Twilight?” Her voice was extremely weak.

Pinkie Pie bounced around her cage, which was strange considering her legs were still tied together. “Yup! Twilight is gonna be here really soon! I can’t wait!”

“Twilight…” Princess Luna’s eye closed as she sighed. “If you can hear me… I love you…”

“ENOUGH!”

The gags around the two captive ponies’ mouths reappeared, and Shadow Star flung Luna against the wall with a snarl.

“Twilight Sparkle is NEVER COMING BACK, UNDERSTAND?!”

~*~*~*~*~

Twilight could feel her fury building.

She had seen the entire ordeal. She watched as her friends were mistreated by her possessor, and she had seen her love hurled against the wall like some discarded plaything.

And she was furious.

“You…” Twilight’s horn began to spark, and she felt the strand of light woven into her soul thicken. “I won’t… let you…”

Twilight’s hoof slammed against the glass, causing a spider web fracture to race across its surface.

“I won’t let you go on…”

Her hoof slammed against the glass again, the cracks becoming longer and more numerous.

“I won’t let you get away…”

One final time, Twilight brought her hoof down against the glass, shattering it completely.

“I WON’T LET YOU HURT HER AGAIN!”

~*~*~*~*~

The air inside the throne room exploded. The captive ponies cried out and tried to shield their eyes from the bright light that suddenly erupted from Shadow Star. They heard the purple alicorn cry out in agony as the light became brighter and brighter.

And then it stopped. The light vanished, and the ponies slowly opened their eyes.

Shadow Star was slumped in the seat of the throne, looking at the hall with disbelief written all over her face. Her inky armor no longer moved as if it was alive, and her arrogance had disappeared.

Following her gaze, the captive ponies soon found out why. There, standing in the middle of the hall, was another purple alicorn. Its wings were spread wide, and they were a mirror image of Shadow Star’s angular pair. Its horn was a long and tapered, and its entire body screamed ‘elegance’.

“Wh-who are you?” Shadow Star demanded. When the newcomer remained silent, Shadow Star screamed, “Answer me!”

“I thought you’d recognize me,” the new alicorn said in a soft female voice that sent bells of recognition ringing in all the captive ponies’ ears.

Except for one.

“Tw-ght!” Pinkie tried to yell around her gag. The new purple alicorn’s ears flicked and her horn glowed with soft lavender light. The cages around the five ponies and one dragon disappeared, along with the restraints placed upon them.

“Oh mah stars! Twi’, is that really you?”

“Twilight, you’re simply GORGEOUS!”

“But scary at the same time…”

“Fluttershy, that’s our friend! And she’s here to kick some serious tyrant butt!”

“Yay!” Pinkie Pie bounced around. “Twilight’s back!”

“Jeez, Twi’, it’s about time,” Spike grumbled.

“Girls,” Twilight’s stern tone caused them all to quiet down and listen. “Take Spike and get behind me, please.”

“I don’t THINK so!” Shadow Star’s horn cackled as she shot five quick bolts of energy at the newly freed ponies.

They never reached their target. The five bolts vanished mid-flight, and were instead replaced by five small fireflies.

“Wh-what?”

Twilight shot an annoyed glance at her foe. “You don’t hurt my friends.” Shadow Star visibly recoiled at the power in Twilight’s voice, giving the five ponies enough time to rush behind Twilight.

“Now stand there and be silent.”

Shadow Star’s jaw clamped shut, oddly reminiscent of the spell Shadow herself had used on Celestia. The dark alicorn worked furiously to free her jaw, to no avail. Anger flared in her eyes, along with the slightest hint of fear.

Twilight walked over to her unmoving mentor, a sad look in her eyes. “Oh, Princess…” Her horn glowed with the same soft lavender light as she leaned her head down and nuzzled the white alicorn. “I’m sorry I was late,” Twilight whispered.

Celestia gasped, her eyes flying open. “Wh- Twilight?”

Twilight smiled. “Yes, Princess Celestia?”

“But, but, I was…”

“Dead?” Twilight filled in. The white alicorn nodded slowly. “Well, you don’t look dead to me.”

“B-but…”

“Princess Celestia,” Twilight said firmly, “while I have no right to tell you what to do, as your student I advise you to save your questions until all loose ends are tied up.” The lavender alicorn glared at Shadow Star.

Celestia sighed and nodded.

“Good. Girls, take care of her please.”

“O-of course, Twilight.”

Twilight proceeded to the limp body of Princess Luna. The blue alicorn’s breath was ragged, but she opened an eye and smiled as she saw Twilight approaching.

“T-twilight…”

“Shh, save your energy,” Twilight whispered, leaning her head down to the weakened princess.

Luna shook her head. “I knew you’d come back,” she whispered happily. “Did you hear what I said?”

Twilight nodded. “You said you loved me.”

Luna’s smile grew. “Good… I didn’t stutter, then…”

Twilight laughed quietly. “I love you too, Luna. And I’m sorry I snapped at you.”

Luna snorted. “I forgave you for that a long time ago.”

“I’m glad.” And Twilight was. She felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off of her heart. “I’m going to move you now, okay?”

“Be gentle,” Luna whispered weakly.

The blue alicorn’s body was wrapped in the lavender glow of Twilight’s magic as she gingerly lifted the Lunar Princess up, floating her over and setting her down next to her sister. “Take care of her too,” Twilight called to her friends.

Rainbow Dash gave Twilight a stout salute. “Will do, boss! Now go kick some evil ass!”

Twilight smiled at her friend, then turned to face a very angry-looking Shadow Star.

“You can count on it.”

Apex

“You…!” Shadow Star had finally managed to break free of the spell that silenced her, and her voice was filled with fury. “How did you escape?! I locked the door PERMENANTLY!”

“Obviously not,” Twilight responded cheekily, drawing her wings in to her body. She was having some trouble getting used to them, so they would have to remain closed for now. “Plus, you endangered my loved ones. There isn’t much that would have kept me from protecting them.”

“But you’re the weakling!” Shadow Star shrieked. “I completely overpowered you, and locked you away for eternity! I should be the strongest!”

“And yet, here I am,” Twilight quipped. “Curious, isn’t it?”

“I WILL NOT BE MOCKED!”

Twilight simply shrugged. “It doesn’t seem to me that you’re in much of a position to make demands right now, ‘Shadow Star’.”

The darker alicorn sneered. “And you think you’re in a position to challenge me? Do you think you have what it takes?”

“Do you think you can stop me?” Twilight replied coolly.

A vein pulsed in Shadow Star’s temple as the alicorn gritted her teeth and growled, “I will not stand for such impudence!”

Twilight just gazed at her foe evenly. “I pity you. I really do. You’re so strong, so knowledgeable. You could have made Equestria stronger than it has ever been.

“I am not as weak as you are!” Shadow Star snarled. “I would never subject my might to aiding the weak!”

“Then you are a fool,” Twilight whispered.

“Only a fool would leave something so valuable to them open for an attack!” Shadow Star turned to face the group behind Twilight. A huge bolt of black electricity leaped out of the dark alicorn’s horn, and arched straight for the group, and Twilight’s five friends’ eyes widened in horror.

A light purple bubble sprang up around the group. The bolt struck the impromptu shield, deflecting off of it and striking the ceiling above, causing debris to rain down on the occupiers of the hall.

“What in the moon?”

“You will not hurt my loved ones,” Twilight said coldly. “And if I need to reinforce that lesson, I will.”

“You couldn’t lay a hoof on me,” Shadow Star sneered at Twilight again, but uncertainty flickered in the dark alicorn’s eyes.

Twilight’s horn began to glow brightly. Her body began to shimmer as white energy wrapped around her torso and hooves, forming a gleaming set of armor. A symbol within a circle appeared around Twilight and began spinning, slowly growing larger.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

Twilight said nothing, her eyes closed in concentration. Shadow Star shied away from the circle as it passed harmlessly through her. As soon as it cleared the throne, the circle dropped to the floor and vanished.

“What have you done?” Shadow Star demanded. “Answer me!”

“I wrapped us within a ward,” Twilight said calmly, opening her eyes. They gleamed with certain brightness. “We don’t want any stray attacks to bring the place down on our heads.”

“I’ll destroy this entire city if I want to!” shrieked the dark alicorn. “And no shield from a mere apprentice caster will stand in my way!”

“Go ahead, then,” Twilight said coolly. “If you think that you can escape it, by all means, try.”

Shadow Star faltered, uncertainty gleaming in her eyes again. “I’ll deal with you first, and then I’ll level the entirety of Equestria!”

“You won’t get the chance,” Twilight stated, and vanished in a flash of light.

Shadow Star’s eyes widened right before a pair of hooves collided with her face. Twilight had teleported right beside her doppelganger, and had simply turned and bucked Shadow Star with all her might.

The dark alicorn went flying, landing in a graceless heap. She was quick, however, and soon recovered, a snarl on her face.

“I will not stand for this impudence!”

“Give it a rest already,” Twilight shot back. A circle of white magical daggers had appeared around her head like a halo. Shadow Star responded in kind, but her daggers were black.

The two opposing alicorns tensed their muscles, preparing for the next engagement. Then they both vanished, invisible to the naked eye. The only sign that they were fighting were the occasional clang of magical daggers and flashes of light.

Shadow Star was the first to reappear. She materialized next to the golden throne, a shallow gash above her eye bleeding profusely. Twilight appeared several yards away, with various cuts in her side. Both were panting from exertion.

“Not so…tough now, huh?” Twilight said with a grin.

“You surprised me,” hissed Shadow Star. “It won’t happen again.”

“We’ll see.”

Twilight began flinging her daggers towards Shadow Star, who fluidly dodged them and sent a volley back towards Twilight. They began a lethal dance, dodging their enemy’s daggers while trying to land a hit with their own. Soon, the two alicorns got creative in their methods, and the air was filled with magical daggers that were curving midair, trying to strike their opponent.

Twilight was the first to get hit. A black dagger ripped through a fleshy part of one of her long legs, and she hissed with pain. Shadow Star grinned triumphantly, only to have a white dagger bury itself in her shoulder. She let loose a bloodcurdling scream before reaching over and pulling it out with her mouth.

Twilight vanished in another flash of light, seeing an opening. As the white dagger vanished, removed from Shadow Star’s shoulder, a pair of white-clad hooves collided with the darker alicorn’s chest, driving the breath from the would-be tyrant and knocking her back.

Only this time, Twilight didn’t stop her assault. Merging all of her daggers together, she created a long white blade that came hissing through the air, aimed directly at Shadow Star’s head.

The darker alicorn barely dodged in time. Instead of cleaving Shadow Star’s skull in half, the white blade sliced into her left wing, spraying blood across the floor. Hissing with pain and exertion, Shadow Star head butted Twilight in the torso, puncturing the lavender alicorn’s armor with her black-wreathed horn.

Twilight gasped and magically shoved Shadow Star back, the darker alicorn’s horn tearing out of her chest. Blood began to seep out of Twilight’s chest as the wound was exposed to the air. But Twilight did not falter. She gathered her energy around her and made a makeshift magical bandage, wrapping it around her chest quickly, and repairing her armor on top of it.

Shadow Star had done much the same with her wing, attempting to stifle the bleeding by wrapping her wound in dark energy.

“You’re weakening,” Shadow Star hissed at the lavender alicorn. “I can already see it. Your movements are slowing, and your breathing is labored.”

“And yours isn’t?” Twilight retorted shortly.

Shadow Star’s lip curled into a sneer. “I am still more than a match for a weakling like you.”

Wrapped in their protective shield and well outside of Twilight’s battleground ward, four ponies and one dragon looked on with something akin to awe as the two powerful alicorns battled.

“I simply adore their armor,” Rarity commented. “It’s just so…elegant. Sleek.”

“Uh, Equestria to Rarity,” Applejack waved a hoof in front of the white unicorn’s face. “One o’ yer best friends is locked in mortal combat wit’ an ins- darn it all, a downright evil…whatever she is, and all ya can think about is fashion?”

“Well, inspiration can strike from anywhere, dear Applejack. It’s not like I have to turn a blind eye to it.”

Applejack rolled her eyes, and then turned to look at Rainbow Dash. The rainbow colored pegasus was watching the fight intently, cheering on Twilight whenever she could.

“Yeah! Kick her ass!” “Nice move, Twilight!” “Watch out for that- too late…”

Spike would join in occasionally, but mostly watched with wide eyes as his lifelong friend battled for her life.

Pinkie Pie also just sat and watched, her mind working furiously. The alicorns moved too fast for her Pinkie sense to be of any help, so all she could do was watch.

“Come on, Twilight,” the pink pony said softly. “You can do it. We’re all counting on you.”

Fluttershy was busy at work, attempting to help the Princesses however she could. Celestia’s mane and tail had since reverted to their soft, flowing colors. The white alicorn sat patiently as Fluttershy administered various herbal disinfectants and sterile bandages to her wounds.

“Fluttershy, I am most grateful,” Celestia said quietly after Fluttershy had wrapped most of her serious injuries.

“Oh, it’s n-no problem at all, P-princess Celestia,” Fluttershy said meekly. “I j-just want to help.”

Celestia smiled kindly at the yellow pegasus. “Can you help my sister now? I don’t seem to be in any immediate danger.”

“O-of course!” Fluttershy switched patients quickly. Luna had passed out after Twilight had moved her closer to the group, and Celestia was worried about her.

There’s nothing I can do from here. My magic can’t heal those wounds, she thought sadly, turning her attentions back to the battle. It was the first time in ages that Celestia had ever felt so helpless. If I try to join the battle now, I’ll only get in Twilight’s way. I’d be a target, and she’d only get hurt trying to protect me…

“I believe in you, Twilight,” Celestia whispered. “And I couldn’t be more proud of you.”

“P-princess Luna!” Fluttershy squeaked. “Y-you really sh-shouldn’t be moving around in your c-condition!”

Celestia glanced over at her younger sister. The alicorn had regained consciousness and was struggling to rise to her hooves.

“Lu’, I think it’s better if we sit this one out,” Celestia murmured.

Luna shot a glare at Celestia. “Twilight is out there, fighting Shadow Star alone,” she hissed. “I can’t let her fight by herself!”

“Luna,” Celestia said sternly. “Think rationally for a minute. In your condition, you wouldn’t be much help to Twilight. She’d probably get hurt trying to protect you from Shadow Star’s attacks. The same goes for me. We would only get in the way.”

Luna froze, and then sunk back to the ground, deflated. “I know that,” she muttered quietly. “I just don’t want Twilight to get hurt anymore. She’s been through a lot.”

Celestia nuzzled her sister gently. “I know. She’s one incredible pony.”

Luna locked her eyes on the battle. “That she is, ‘Tia. That she is.”

Within the warded battlefield, Shadow Star and Twilight had begun exchanging blows. Shadow Star had conglomerated her daggers together in a single blade, mirroring Twilight’s weapon, and the two were spinning around each other, attempting to find an opening in the other’s guard.

“You won’t win!” Shadow Star shouted, parrying a blow from Twilight.

“I can’t afford lose,” Twilight responded evenly. “Too much is at stake.”

The two alicorns brought their blades together with enough force to raze buildings. The entire hall shook from the resulting boom that resonated from the blow.

Twilight fought hard, twisting and turning with agility she never knew she possessed. But Shadow Star’s experience was slowly starting to give the dark alicorn the upper hand, and Twilight found herself being forced backwards. Gritting her teeth, she split her blades into two separate weapons. Shadow Star followed suit, doubling the pace of the fight. Twilight began to divide her blades more and more, pushing her mental abilities to their limits. Soon, dozens of miniature blades from both ponies whirled in a maelstrom of black and white between them. The sound from the clashes of the weapons filled the air with an unceasing clang.

The sharp edges of Shadow Star’s black blades cut into Twilight’s legs, shoulders, neck, and face, leaving wounds that burned like sunfire. At the same time, Twilight scored dozens of hits with her own white blades, leaving the darker alicorn looking like she had gotten on the wrong side of Opalescence.

And still, Twilight found herself being forced back. She was now mere steps away from the edge of her wards, and she did not want to have her back against the wall with no room to maneuver against Shadow Star’s onslaught.

So Twilight did the only thing that came to mind. Abandoning all notions of defense, she flung all of her blades at Shadow Star and detonated them.

BOOM!

The resulting explosion blasted Twilight backwards, slamming her against the wall of her wards. Shadow Star was flung in the opposite direction, skidding across the floor of the hall and landing in a smoldering heap.

“Twilight!” Luna’s voice rang out in the hall as the midnight blue alicorn tried to struggle to her hooves.

“I’m fine!” Twilight replied with all the force she could muster, dragging herself up of the ground.

“Didja get ‘er good, Twi’?”

“Oh yeah! That was AWESOME!”

Choosing to ignore the shouts from Rainbow Dash and Applejack, Twilight gazed at the smoking Shadow Star. The darker alicorn was slowly getting to her hooves.

“That was underhanded,” Shadow Star said with a cough. Her movements were uncertain, and her voice wavered with exhaustion.

“Say what you will,” Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “But you’re beaten. Give up.”

“I’ll never surrender to the likes of you,” Shadow Star snarled. “I will rule this land, or I will see it burned to the ground. I refuse to be your captive, Twilight Sparkle. I would sooner die!”

And with those words, Shadow Star threw everything she had into one last attack. A massive surge of black energy erupted from her horn, flying directly at Twilight.

The lavender alicorn mustered her energy and summoned her own massive bolt of white energy, firing it at Shadow Star. The two beams of light collided midair.

Beads of sweat immediately broke out on Twilight’s forehead as she struggled to maintain her spell. Shadow Star began panting from the exertion, but her face was set in a grimly determined expression.

Slowly, the white beam of energy was forced back.

“I will not be defeated! Not today, not tomorrow, not ever!” Shadow shrieked. The black beam began to thicken as the dark alicorn poured more energy into the spell, and forced Twilight’s beam back further and further.

“No! I can’t lose now!” Twilight reached within herself and fed more magic into the white beam. It thickened in turn, halting the progress of the black beam, but not reversing it.

“You’re weak, Twilight Sparkle! You always have been!” Shadow Star screamed. The black beam began to advance on the lavender alicorn again.

“I… I can’t…” Twilight panted as her beam of light thinned. The black beam began to advance on her quicker than before. As much as Twilight struggled to push the beam back, it kept gaining ground.

The meeting point of the beams of energy made it all the way to Twilight’s horn. The white beam had all but vanished, and Twilight was about ready to concede defeat and accept her death when Luna’s voice shattered the air.

“Twilight Sparkle, don’t you DARE die on me now!”

Something within Twilight was released. A fresh surge of energy welled up inside of the lavender alicorn, and she poured it all into her spell. The white beam of light doubled, then tripled in size, and it quickly forced the black beam back.

Twilight’s spell returned the meeting point to the middle of the two alicorns, and kept advancing on Shadow Star. The dark alicorn’s eyes widened.

“No! Impossible!”

The white beam continued to advance as Twilight poured more and more of her strength into the spell.

“I am a goddess! I am supreme!”

The white beam of energy hovered right above Shadow Star’s horn.

“I cannot be defeated!”

The black beam of light vanished, and the white beam broke free of all resistance. It washed over the dark purple alicorn, and Shadow Star let loose an earth rending scream. The floor beneath her cracked and shook, and the residents of the smaller shield quickly covered their ears with their hooves or talons.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

The white light expanded to fill the warded battleground as the dark alicorn disintegrated. Twilight panicked as she felt more and more of her strength being poured into the spell. If I keep this up much longer, I’ll die!

“Twilight!” Luna shouted.

And just like that, Twilight’s connection to the spell was severed. The white light that had filled the warded battleground began to recede back into the lavender alicorn. Twilight’s exhausted legs gave out as the last of the light vanished, and she hit the floor with a thump. The ward around the battlefield began to deteriorate and vanish, as did the protective shield around the group.

“Twilight! Are you okay?”

Rainbow Dash was the first to reach her exhausted friend. Worriedly, the rainbow pegasus prodded her friend’s side. “Twilight? Twilight?”

“Rainbow Dash, you can be really annoying sometimes,” Twilight said with a groan. The pegasus’s face broke into a huge grin.

“I’m just doing my job!”

“Budge over, you,” Applejack said kindly, pushing her marefriend aside. “Twi’ ya were amazin’! Ah didn’t know ya was so strong!”

“Indeed,” Rarity chimed in. “It was a surprise to us all. But I’m more worried about your mental state. Are you our Twilight?”

“Are you crazy?” Pinkie Pie wheeled on her white unicorn friend. “Rarity, you’re talking to the same pony that just risked her life to save all eight of us! She held a shield, a ward, and still fought on par with that monster Shadow Star! Of course she’s our Twilight!”

Rarity gave a sheepish look at her friends. “O-of course she is,” the white unicorn stammered. “How stupid of me to question it.”

“It’s okay, Rarity,” Twilight said quietly, hauling herself to her hooves. “I did some pretty awful things to you guys. I never expect you to forgive me for them.”

“Yer a darned fool if ya truly think that we wouldn’t forgive ya,” Applejack said. The others clamored in agreement.

“Besides, didn’t we already resolve that?” Pinkie asked. “Back in the labyrinth?”

Four ponies stared at the pink earth pony. “Pinkie Pie, what in the hay are you goin’ on about now?”

Twilight just smiled at her friend, giving her a brief nuzzle. “You’re right, of course.”

“About what?”

“Never mind…”

Applejack glanced over her shoulder. “Hey, uh, Twi’.”

“Yes, Applejack?”

The orange earth pony jerked her head in the direction of the two princesses. “Ah think somepony is waitin’ on ya.”

“Awwwhhhh yeaahhh!” Rainbow Dash said happily. Applejack gave her a swift prod in the ribs.

“Behave yerself, you rambunctious rainbow.”

Twilight smiled at her friends and walked slowly over to the Princesses.

“Twilight Sparkle, I’m so proud of you,” Princess Celestia said happily. “You saved not only us, but all of Equestria! And this wasn’t the first time,” the white alicorn added thoughtfully.

“I’m honored, Princess,” Twilight said reverently.

Celestia waved a flippant hoof, wincing as her injuries pained her. “Twilight, please. Just call me Celestia.”

Twilight goggled at her mentor. “B-but, I’m nowhere near your equal,” the purple alicorn protested.

“Aren’t you, Twilight? You defeated one of the most powerful threats that Equestria had ever seen relatively quickly. You succeeded where I failed,” Celestia hung her head low in shame, “and if anypony deserves the title of Ruler of Equestria, it’s you.”

“Celestia,” Twilight started, giving the new name for her (former) mentor a try, “you honor me beyond belief. But, while I may be powerful, you’re still infinitely more wise and sagacious. Equestria deserves you as a ruler, not me.”

Celestia raised her head up at Twilight and beamed. “I’m so proud of you,” the white alicorn said softly, giving her student an affectionate nuzzle. “But I think somepony has something to say to you, as well.”

And with that, Celestia trotted off, joining the group of chattering ponies behind them.

Twilight looked at Luna. Even though the blue alicorn was battered, she was still the most gorgeous being Twilight had ever seen. And now, since they were roughly the same height, Twilight could appreciate Luna’s beauty all the more.

They just stared at each other for a while. A single tear flowed down Luna’s face as she burst out, “Don’t you EVER scare me like that again!”

Twilight flinched, surprised at the outburst. Luna was crying wholeheartedly now. “I thought you were going to die! I thought I was going to die! And all I could think about was how I’d never get to spend more time with you, or make another sandwich with you…” the midnight blue alicorn trailed off. “I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you. It was making me irrational.”

Twilight leaned in and nuzzled the blue alicorn. Luna sighed in contentment. “I love you, Twilight Sparkle.”

“I love you too, Luna,” Twilight whispered. “You saved me.”

“Somepony had to.”

“You were the only one that could have,” Twilight insisted.

“Perhaps.”

“Hey Twi’!” Applejack called out. Twilight entwined her tail with Luna’s and turned to answer her friend.

“Yes?”

“Ya’ll should probably come look at this.”

Curiosity welling up inside her and tail-in-tail with Luna, Twilight wandered over to her friends. They were circled around something and muttering to each other. The circle opened to admit the two alicorns, and Luna gasped as she saw what lay on the ground.

It was a black crystal that swirled with inexplicable deepness. It glowed with a dull light, and the air seemed colder around it.

“What is it?” Rarity asked. “It’s sinister, but gorgeous at the same time!”

“No, Rarity, ya can’t have it fer yer dresses.”

“I wasn’t going to ask.”

“It’s an essence crystal,” Celestia explained quietly. “When a large power is altered in a major way-“

“Like being zapped with a magic beam of awesome?”

Celestia frowned at Rainbow Dash. “Yes, like that. When they’re altered, they sometimes leave behind essence crystals. These crystals contain all the influence, power, and experience of the source it came from.”

“And it looks like this came from a certain evil alicorn,” Rarity pitched in. Fluttershy squeaked.

“That it does,” Celestia agreed. “Only problem is, how do we deal with it?”

“That’s easy,” Twilight said. She wrapped the crystal in her magic and floated it up to her eyes, inspecting it carefully. “I hang onto it.” A sharp look from the lavender alicorn silenced the protests that rose from her friends.

“Twilight, are you sure?” Luna asked, pressing into Twilight’s side worriedly.

“It’s a part of me now, just as much as my new body is,” Twilight replied softly. “It only makes sense that I hang onto it. Besides, someday it might prove useful. And I don’t trust a whole lot of other ponies to look after something as powerful and dangerous as this.”

“Well said,” Celestia agreed. “But are you going to levitate it all the way home?”

Twilight seemed surprised at the question. “Of course not,” she replied. Screwing up her face in concentration, she wrapped the gem in a brilliant white light, and it vanished. “I’ll just teleport it home.”

Rainbow Dash snorted. “Yeah, and excuse me while I just join the Wonderbolts. You know, no big deal.”

Everypony laughed at that.

“I think it’s about time you ponies returned home,” Celestia ordered. “I’ll have a chariot prepared immediately. You should all go home and rest. You’ve been through a long and tiring ordeal.”

Luna and Twilight glanced at each other.

“With respect, sister,” Luna started, “I’d like to give Twilight a few tips on being an alicorn. Maybe give her a first flying lesson.”

Ignoring the groan of “but I wanted to do that” from Rainbow Dash, Princess Celestia smiled a knowing smile.

“Very well.”

Resolutions (Epilogue)

Celestia’s sun had just begun to set, dipping below the horizon and bathing Ponyville in a crimson light. It was five days after her confrontation with Shadow Star, and Twilight’s wings ached dully. It was a comfortable feeling. Flying lessons for the day had been taxing, but she had spent it with her favorite pony in Equestria.

“Bit for your thoughts?” Luna asked. The two alicorns were situated on the balcony of Twilight’s library, watching the sun fall. “You’re dwelling on our meeting with ‘Tia earlier, aren’t you?”

It was true. Twilight’s mind was still in the recently repaired royal reception hall.

~*~*~*~*~

“Twilight Sparkle,” the Solar Princess had said. “There are some formalities that need taken care of. Even though I trust you completely, the bureaucracy demands that some minor details are ironed out.”

Twilight hadn’t liked the sound of that, but she nodded dutifully. “Alright. What’s first?”

Celestia grimaced. “Well, we might as well get the most unpleasant business out of the way first. Are you aware of the law regarding Class One spell casters?”

“Magic users are rated on a scale of one to ten,” Twilight recited, “with ten being barely gifted and one being princess-level.” Twilight frowned. “There are only two Class Ones that I know of, being you and Luna.”

Celestia nodded. “That was the case. And because of this, the law regarding Class Ones wasn’t an issue. Nopony was brave enough to try and impose limits upon the power of royalty.”

Twilight frowned. “But?”

“But then you entered the picture,” Celestia stated evenly. “The bureaucrats demanded that I keep your power in check somehow.” The white alicorn frowned and flared her wings. “They’re cowards and fools, but they keep Equestria running.”

“So what’s the plan?”

“Well, normally, both Luna and I would place various spells upon you, restricting your power to mundane levels unless a crisis occurred and your full power was needed.” As she said this, a sly look entered Celestia’s eye.

“Normally?”

“There is one way around it,” Celestia grinned. “So congratulations, Twilight. I’m appointing you as a permanent member of my Advisory Council and my official Royal Representative in Ponyville.”

A confused look came across Twilight’s face. “But Princess, you don’t have an Advisory Council.”

Celestia nickered with amusement. “I created it this morning. There’s only one seat that was available, and it now belongs to you. So now, as both a Royal Representative and my own personal advisor, I get to make the rules of what you can and cannot do,” the white alicorn said with a wink. “And I officially decree that no limits are needed upon you.”

Twilight laughed at the Princess’s devious maneuver. “Won’t that upset ponies?”

“Undoubtedly,” the white alicorn snorted. “But they can’t do anything about it.”

“I’m honored, Princess,” Twilight said, bowing.

“Is the bow necessary, Twilight?” another melodious voice chimed in. Twilight looked up, a smile spreading across her face, as her favorite midnight blue alicorn entered the hall.

“Only in the presence of such high ranking figures,” Twilight replied playfully, her wings fluttering slightly. The sight Princess Luna never failed to take Twilight’s breath away.

“How flattering,” Luna murmured, nuzzling Twilight and entwining their tails together.

Celestia cleared her throat. Twilight blushed fiercely, and Luna glared at her elder sister. “There are still things that we need to discuss, Lu’,” Celestia said.

“Then discuss them.”

“Oh, for the love of…” Celestia shook her head, turning her attentions back to Twilight. “The second thing I needed to arrange with you is a training schedule.”

“Training schedule?” Twilight repeated dumbly. “For what?”

Celestia looked meaningfully at Twilight’s wings. “You’re the only alicorn in the history of Equestria that wasn’t born that way. You won’t have the instinctual control that Luna and I possess, and you certainly won’t be flying on your new wings. Now, I am usually available for lessons…” the white alicorn trailed off as Twilight scraped a hoof against the floor, a guilty look written all over her face. Luna had dissolved into giggles. “Okay,” Celestia demanded, “what am I missing?”

“W-well, you see Princess…” Twilight started.

“I’ve already started teaching Twilight, ‘Tia,” Luna finished. “We actually did have a flying lesson after Shadow Star was defeated.”

“And we’ve been having sessions where I’ve been learning to control my new powers for a few days now,” Twilight added. “Sorry for not telling you earlier.”

Celestia looked from the embarrassed purple alicorn to the smirking midnight blue one, a resigned sigh escaping her lips. “There will be no separating you two, will there?”

“Not at all,” Luna replied confidently.

“She’s already moved in to the library,” Twilight mumbled.

Celestia rolled her eyes. “Then I guess that settles it,” the white alicorn said. “Lu’, make sure she learns well. I’ve had enough rampant alicorn magic for one millennium.”

Luna nodded while Twilight asked, “Was there anything else you needed, Princess?”

Princess Celestia looked thoughtful for a second, and shook her head. “There is one other bit of information I’d like to give you, but the official business is settled, more or less.”

“Information?”

“Yes. I was reading over Greymane’s work on the alicorn transmutation spell,” Celestia said. “And I came across an interesting passage. Apparently, he modified the spell from a more permanent version of his other spells. He had obviously intended to keep his wings once he had them.”

Twilight frowned. “Okay…at the risk of sounding rude, so what?”

Celestia shrugged. “It means that there’s no reversing the spell. You’re an alicorn for good.”

~*~*~*~*~

“Do you regret this?” Luna asked softly, nudging Twilight’s wings.

Twilight thought for a moment. “No, I don’t. It’s a big change, that’s for sure, but I don’t regret that it happened to me.” She looked at Luna with a smile on her face. “And even if I could reverse this, I don’t think I would.”

“Why not?” Luna pushed. “This change was forced on you. If you had the means to reverse the forced change, why wouldn’t you?”

Twilight looked to the sky. The sun was more than halfway below the horizon now, and the sky had taken a blue tint. “Well,” she said finally, “I’d keep it for you, Luna.”

Luna tilted her head sideways. “I don’t understand.”

“Well, before, while I was just a unicorn,” talk about things you never thought you’d say, “it seemed as if there was some sort of barrier between us. It did to me, at least.” Twilight fumbled for the words, struggling to convey her feelings. “Now, that barrier has vanished. I feel… connected to you. More than I did before.” Twilight grimaced. The explanation was woefully inadequate.

Luna just smiled and kissed Twilight’s cheek gently, sending goose bumps down Twilight’s back. “You’re such a silly filly,” she whispered. “I didn’t need that to love you. But it certainly is a plus.”

Twilight smiled and leaned her head against the darker alicorn’s body. “I’m glad you understand,” she said quietly. “So where do we go from here?”

Luna thought for a moment. “Do we have to go anywhere?” she finally asked. “We have all the time in the world. Quite literally, in fact.”

Twilight blinked and tilted her head. “What?”

“Didn’t Celestia tell you?” Luna smiled impishly. “You’re an alicorn now, by all indication. You have all the powers ‘Tia and I have.”

“Okay…?”

“Twilight,” Luna’s tone quickly became more serious, “you have all of eternity stretching before you. You’re immortal.”

The prospect hit Twilight like a buck to the chest. “E-eternity?”

“Yes. Your natural life will extend forever.” The blue alicorns face twisted into a grimace as she added, “Unless somepony succeeds in killing you.”

“You know as well as I do that my death by somepony’s hand is unlikely at best now,” Twilight murmured in Luna’s ear. “You don’t have to worry about that.”

“I hope so,” Luna murmured back. “I couldn’t bear to be without you.”

Twilight returned the princess’s kiss on the cheek, and then stuck her tongue out playfully. “I love you too.” Still, something bothered Twilight. Living forever had its downside. Pain and worry clutched at her heart as she thought of her friends naturally dying off while she remained frozen in time.

“You’re thinking about your friends,” Luna said quietly. “I can see it on your face.”

A single tear escaped from Twilight’s eye. “I’ll be without them, Luna. They’ll die, but I won’t.”

Luna nuzzled the distressed alicorn gently. “Twilight, your friends have long lives ahead of them. And I’ll be here for you, always.”

“Thank you,” Twilight whispered.

The sun had almost completely vanished beneath the horizon. The two alicorns were silent for a while, looking across Ponyville and the surrounding area. Even from this distance, they could see the activity on Sweet Apple Acres drawing to a close. The waning light cast a red glow across their orchard as three small dots (Applejack, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom, Twilight assumed) walked toward the farmhouse, retiring for the day.

Princess Luna was the first to break the silence. “What does Applejack think?”

“Hmmm? Think about what?”

Luna jerked her head back towards Twilight’s room, where the midnight blue alicorn had recently arranged some of her own belongings. Twilight’s room was now furnished with a wide, detailed map of Equestria, a golden telescope that was stamped with the royal insignia, and various other trinkets from the palace. “This. Us.”

Twilight raised her eyebrow at Luna. “Do you really need to ask? She’s been nothing but supportive of the entire thing, along with Rainbow Dash.”

Luna nodded. “Speaking of your rainbow-colored friend, thank her for what she did earlier, won’t you?”

~*~*~*~*~

After their meeting with Princess Celestia, Twilight and Luna had returned to Ponyville, calmly trotting through the entire town. They hadn’t even made it to the library before they drew a crowd of gaping ponies.

“Is that Princess Luna? But who’s she with?”

“Celestia help us, it’s another alicorn!”

“But look!” Roseluck’s voice had risen above the crowd, and she pointed a hoof at Twilight’s flank. “Her cutie mark!”

“Twilight?!”

Twilight and Luna had exchanged glances, both looking extraordinarily helpless. Rainbow Dash, however, was on the scene in seconds.

“Alright, everypony, listen up!” she cried, hovering over the alicorn couple. “There’s been a lot of major stuff that’s happened over the past several hours, and you should all know what that stuff was!”

So Rainbow Dash proceeded to give her epic rendition of the past battle, beginning with Shadow Star’s hostile takeover of Twilight’s body and ending with the tyrant’s defeat. Tactfully, she left out the part about the black gemstone that was situated in Twilight’s room behind several magical wards. The crowd was enthralled by Rainbow Dash’s story, gasping and cheering when appropriate.

“And that,” Rainbow Dash concluded, “is the whole story!”

“Wow, Twilight, you’re amazing!”

“Yeah!”

“Can I feel your wings? They look different than a pegasus pony’s wings.”

“Hey!” Rainbow Dash bellowed again. “There will be enough time for you all to bombard Twilight with your attentions later. Right now, how about we let the hero of Ponyville and her marefriend have some rest, huh?”

A deathly silence spread over the crowd at that point. Everypony looked at each other.

“Marefriend?”

“But they’re both mares!”

“Yeah, and what’s yer point?” Applejack had pushed and shoved her way through the crowd until she stood in front of the two alicorns. “Twi’, Princess Luna,” she nodded respectfully, and then wheeled around to face the crowd. “Who gives a flyin’ hayfeather if they’re both mares? Why should somethin’ as silly as gender dictate who can love who?” Applejack stamped her hoof against the ground. “If ya’ll don’t like it, well, then that’s just too darned bad, ain’t it?”

“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash pitched in, landing next to the orange pony. “It isn’t as strange as you think, anyway!”

“RD, do ya think we should tell ‘em?”

“Why tell when we can just show?” As soon as the words left Rainbow Dash’s mouth, she tackled the orange pony and kissed her passionately, right in front of the entire crowd.

“Woohoo!” some pony that sounded suspiciously like Pinkie Pie yelled from the back. The crowd erupted into cheers as Rainbow Dash and Applejack grinned at Twilight and Luna.

“Ya’ll can thank us later.”

~*~*~*~*~

“That surprised even me,” Twilight said with a giggle. “I didn’t expect my friends to come out that way.”

“It certainly was astounding,” Luna agreed. “But the crowd seemed to love it.”

Twilight nodded, gazing up at the sky. The sun was now completely below the horizon, and the sky began to darken.

Luna began to stand up, brushing herself off and stretching her legs. “Before we left the palace,” she said idly, “I asked ‘Tia a favor.”

“Oh?” Twilight had a puzzled look on her face. “What would that be?”

“Well, it’s been so long since I’ve really fulfilled my duties,” the dark blue alicorn replied, flaring her wings out. “I asked her to not raise the moon tonight. I’ve decided that I’m going to do it.”

“Oh, wow! That’s great, Luna!” Twilight smiled up at her marefriend.

“But, you know,” Luna trailed off, feigning sadness. “There are so many stars in my night sky. It’s a lot for one pony to handle.”

Twilight’s eyes grew wide.

“So I figured that I would ask a pony whose name was fitting for this time of day,” Luna continued, “to help me bring out the stars. This pony has to be able to use magic, fly, and be strong and smart enough to do both.”

Twilight let out a small squee as Luna turned and gazed at her.

“Twilight Sparkle,” she addressed the purple alicorn formally, “will you lend us your strength and help us raise the stars?”

Quashing the urge to bounce around and scream yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes, Twilight jumped to her hooves and bowed. “I would be honored.”

The two ponies tensed their muscles, spread their wings, and jumped off the balcony. They soared into the twilight sky, spreading the night sky for everypony across Equestria.